Gig Review

+44
Plus The Sounds, The Tommys, The Maple State
Southampton, Guildhall
9th February 2007


+44                              The Sounds       The Tommys       The Maple State
                 

As I entered the main room, the first band were already on stage and playing away. It wasn't even eight o clock, and so I wasn't quite ready for a band yet, but still, they didn't seem bad. The Maple State by name, and not bad by nature. They actually seemed to be a very good support for +44, as they've got a similar sound going on. They sound like the headliners, only with more of an indie edge, and are actually quite good. (Their new single Joanna comes out February 19th, check it out!) So all in all pretty good sounding, just not much of a stage presence. Obviously being the first band on at a big gig in front of people who don't really know you, can be daunting, and they didn't look nervous, but they weren't really getting into it.

The next band on, three angry women from Crewe. And amid the boyish jeers of “get your tits out,” emerged surprisingly good heavy/punk music, with a drummer going nuts and an awesome vocal contribution. The vocalist/bassist strutted around the stage, and apart from slipping over once on some random spillage which was then quickly mopped up by a roadie after angry orders from the victim, looked comfortable in her environment, speaking to the crowd and calling for pits and crowd participation where relevant. There was one song, the name of which escapes me which started with a really metal-like riff, which stood out like a sore thumb amongst a generally good set of heavy punk rhythms and sequences. It was quite late on in the set to, so remains as a poignant point of the show, thus possibly why I'm mentioning it now. But other than that, brilliant, it's just a shame that song let them down.

Three support bands? Oh lucky us. The Sounds. Fresh from Sweden. And you know what, they should have stayed. Their show wasn't bad, an interesting mix, but their music isn't what I'd go for personally. Imagine a random eighties music video, where a male guitarist rocks out, in a white vest and floppy hair, almost like curtains. Well yeah, there's the guitarist covered. The vocalist was female, and walked around, hurling the microphone here and there, and doing some quite impressive jumps to be fair. As for the music, well, it was very poppy, and almost theatrical. You could imagine a modern show or musical, featuring these guys. It wasn't rocky enough, and although the singer clearly wanted to rock out, it just wasn't happening. Basically, you can see why they made it big in Sweden. That's all I'll say.

And then, happy days, +44 came on stage to just about the biggest cheer ever, and fired straight into “Lycanthrope,” followed by “Baby Come On,” and my personal favourite “When Your Heart Stops Beating.” The two guitarists stood in their place, not seeming to do much but change position on the spot and distort their figures about their instruments as they got into the feel of things. It was Mark Hoppus, (formally of Blink 182 as if you didn't know,) who kept the stage show alive, running around the stage, almost skipping, stopping at either end and looking out into the crowd, for cheers and rocking-devil-horns coming back his way.

“Little Death,” “Lillian,” and “155” preceded “Make You Smile,” the album version of which includes a female vocal line, but obviously live, Mark has to sing the whole thing. Which he did very well, a whole room of people singing back to him.

Then came a musical interlude, which ran into “Weather Man,” and another personal favourite “No It Isn't.”

If you didn't know, quite a lot of their music is generally slower. In interviews they've said that if Blink 182 was day, +44 was night, and it's not something you really understand until seeing them live. A lot of slower tunes, nice blue mood lighting and all that foggy nonsense, and a style of song than can thankfully bypass the Guildhall's sound issues.

“Cliff Diving” however, isn't one of the slower ones, and coming out of the previous song, contrasted beautifully with a fast-paced heavier intro.

Between songs, Hoppus would talk to the crowd, thanking the previous bands and what-not, and claiming that besides the roadies, who he also thanked, that he was the hardest working person on the tour, putting in a full hour and half every day.


The final song was “Chapter XIII,” and then the band were gone; “we'll see you in a few minutes.” Now, is it me, or do bands generally not forewarn the crowd that there's going to be an encore? I mean, admittedly, it's to be expected nowadays, but still, you don't tell them.

And so they returned, to play a song, after a brief musical interlude by the drummer. Now, the +44 drummer is Travis Barker, who I'm sure you all know, but for this tour, they were joined by a guest drummer who took to an awesome drum solo. The following song was called “Metro,” a cover originally by Berlin, and covered by System Of A Down before. The +44 version however, was more like the original. It seemed to drag on a bit though, maybe it's because most of the fifteen-year-old audience, had no idea what the song was.

All in all, a good show. A brilliant sound, given the venue, and a great crowd-response.

Review By Thom

 +44

Orlando Weeks (Vocals)
Hugo White (Guitar)
Felix White (Guitar, Vocals)
Rupert Jarvis (Bass)
Robert Dylan Thomas (Drums)
 The Sounds

Maja Ivarsson (Vocals)
Felix Rodriguez (Guitars)
Johan Bengtsson (Bass)
Jesper Anderberg (Synthesizers)
Fredrik Nilsson (Drums)
 The Tommys

Stevie Shepperson (Guitar, Vocals)
Cara Lee (Vocals)
Anna Naberrie (Bass)
Fran Robinson (Drums)
 The Maple State

Gregory Counsell
William Pearson
Christian Counsell
Richard Higginbottom
John Goodwin
 Band Related Links
+44 Myspace
The Sounds Myspace
The Tommys Myspace
The Maple State Myspace
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?