Hyro
Da Hero
Bristol, Thekla
19th February 2012
Tonight's
exploits were to take place on the main stage
of Bristol's Thekla, a unique venue on a anchored
boat, for a unique act, Hyro Da Hero. I have little
past experience with Hyro other than seeing him
provide guest on The Blackout's "Higher And
Higher" at Plymouth's White Rabbit in April
last year. Playing some fairly intimate gig's
supporting such a phenomenal live band, combined
with a lot of good press left me, and I'm sure
a large number of the crowd in great anticipation.
However with this being Hyro's first headline
tour it would be hard to fault him for failing
to find the stage presence and crowd control of
more experienced front men.
A crackle reminiscent of an old radio, accompanied
by a pounding heartbeat blearing over the speakers
let the crowd know the show was about to begin.
As the band took to the stage the heartbeat was
replaced with the scratchy guitar opening of ‘Ghetto
Ambiance’ before being stripped away leaving
drums, bass and Hyro's [abrasive] lyrics. The
instant the song reverted to the guitar riffs
of Cody Votolato and Daniel Anderson, Hyro dissolved
any earlier doubts when he got the crowd to put
their hands in the air and clap along. He continued
to exercise his control over the crowd during
the next song getting the crowd to sing "Beam
Me Up Scotty". The sound of the band was
far better than that of the support acts with
heavy drum beat and powerful guitars. The only
thing that could be faulted was the vocal mix,
which was ever so slightly drowned out by the
band, though still audible.
Whilst
the lights were not the most incredible spectacle,
the energy on stage from the band and Hyro (with
his constant jumping and moving from side to side)
was more than enough to keep the crowd entertained.
At the start of the fifth track of the night,
"2 Pistols Freestyle" from the Mix Tape
"Rock & Roll Gangsta", the band
left the stage leaving only Hyro and ‘man
with a Laptop at the back of the stage’
to control the sound. At most gig's when the band
leaves that stage leaving the lead singer it's
for a slow emotional acoustic track or two, however
this wasn't most gig's, with the next few tracks
being more upbeat Hip Hop tracks. The sound remained
at a high level however without the loud boom
of the drums and cutting guitar, Hyro's vocals
became more prominent. With all headline acts
the change, whether it be to acoustic or electronic,
proves a welcome change of pace that mixes things
up, and this was no exception. The band remained
absent during "Tape Rock", and mid way
through "Man In My Sity".
The
band returned to the stage with the sound of the
guitars rising over the sound of the laptop and
taking the energy up yet another notch with the
crowd breaking into a moshpit. The band came back
sounding slightly louder and sharper than before,
but it was still excellent quality sound, and
they were clearly enjoying every second of the
concert. The energy on and off stage continued
with Hyro asking the crowd to close in on the
stage before "Fuck You", "Section
8" and "Worlds Stage". The volume
had been sorted and the sound was the best it
had been throughout the concert, vocals included.
Before playing the next song, Hyro got the entire
crowd to raise their phones, take a photo, and
tweet about the concert. They were truly eating
out of the palm of his hand and he was loving
every minute of it. Everyone has been to at least
one gig where they've gone, "Wow, I can't
believe..." and more often than not these
moments come from a small intimate venue like
The Thekla. This moment was saved till the encore
"Sleeping Giants".
Before
the start of this song, Hyro left the stage onto
the dance floor, and as the music played he got
the crowed to start a circle pit with him in the
centre. As the vocals kicked in the pit erupted
into the biggest mosh pit of the night, with Hyro
at the centre singing. It wasn't until mid way
through that he leapt from the crowd back to the
stage with a grin on his face. As the track wound
to an end the heartbeat blared over the speakers
once again, the band leaving as they entered,
however the voice from the radio was replaced
with Hyro saying "now I want to meet all
of you", before stepping back into the crowd
from the stage again.
It
was a fantastic end to a fantastic gig, I'm not
the biggest fan of rap-rock but as far as performances
go that was exceptional. I don't know who was
having a better time, Hyro Da Hero or the crowd,
which is always nice to see, as is so much energy
from a band on the final night of their UK tour.
Hyro Da Hero can defiantly play to a crowd with
showmanship similar to the likes of Jared Letto
but not unbefitting an Intimate venue. I could
picture him on a big or small stage and still
see an incredible performance. Regardless of if
this is your style of music or not, Hyro Da Hero
is an act to go and see.
Hyro Da Hero 4/4
Review By Marc Rich
Photos By Neil Oliver
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