 I
spend a confusing 20 minutes queuing amongst young
couples and children with parents for the gig
tonight, only to realise I’m actually queuing
for the ‘Indigo Girls’, who are playing
the Academy 2 tonight. I’m relieved to find
a gaggle of teenagers waiting in the queue around
the corner, wearing Billy Talent merchandise;
I know I’m in the right place now.
The venue is already packed as I arrive, and
within minutes, the first support is sound checking.
The first thing that hits me as Canterbury starts
their set is the level of sound. It’s absolutely
ridiculous; they’ve definitely turned it
up to 11 tonight. The acoustics in the new Birmingham
Academy are useless, and with the volume as high
as it is, I fear for my poor ears. But on to the
show – Canterbury are the perfect support
for Billy Talent, with their melodic pop-punky
anthems. They’re young, bouncy, and great
fun to watch.
The infamous Cancer Bats are up next, and they
seem a strange choice to support Billy Talent.
They’re a great band to photograph; they
have loads of energy - the guitarist performs
constant hair flicks and vocalist Liam Cormier
jumps into the crowd during the first song of
the set. Once out of the pit though, there’s
not much to enjoy. Their sound is a mess of thrashing
guitars accompanied by Liam’s screaming
and growling. Call me old-fashioned, but I like
a song to have a tune. It’s not long before
I need to take a break in the lobby before my
ears start to bleed or my head explodes.
 After what seems an age, Billy Talent takes to
the stage. They quickly whip the crowd into a
frenzy with ‘The Dead Can’t Testify’.
They’re on top form, and deliver a perfect
mix of punchy songs, both old and new, and slower
tracks, most notably, ‘Surrender’.
The influence of Green Day on their style is
evident, and Ben mentions them a couple of times,
as they’re playing the next day at the LG
Arena, just down the road. Strangely, the mention
of their name gets a fair few boos – why
would their fans dislike the musical parent of
their favourite band? We’re barely halfway
through the set when sweaty kids start stumbling
out of the mosh pit, looking worse for wear. Some
even collect their coats from the cloakroom and
leave – no stamina, kids these days...
The show must go though. The band perform all
the tracks you’d expect; ‘Rusted From
The Rain’ and ‘Devil In A Midnight
Mass’ are clear favourites. Having never
seen them live before, I enjoyed the gig, but
find their music and performance a little generic
and formulaic. Nevertheless, their hardcore fans
love every minute, and the band can’t seem
to do any wrong for their adoring public.
Despite arriving on stage late, the band ends
their set on time, and after a short encore, finishing
with the brilliant ‘Red Flag’, we’re
filing out. I can’t help feeling short-changed,
but it doesn’t seem to have fazed the fans
around me as they gleefully scramble for merchandise
at the door.
Canterbury– 3/5
Cancer Bats – 1/5
Billy Talent - 4/5
Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls– 3/5
The Proclaimers – 5/5
Review By Helen Williams |
