Well I was in London and here is my review for all gigs......
When I learnt that NFD would play a gig in London after many years of silence, (I had seen them live on stage in 2009 in London again), I couldn’t resist and booked my tickets straight away. The following days more great bands were added to the bill, namely the legendary Skeletal Family, Red Sun Revival (best newcomer UK Goth act according to my opinion) and my beloved The Faces of Sarah. Things were getting even better for me when I realised that there would be an aftershow party with the crazy Goth n’ Roll guys of Terminal Gods and one of the oldest bands of the UK dark wave/goth scene Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. So I was very impatient about my 5th visit to the birthplace of GOTH music!
On Saturday afternoon I heard that the gig was sold out, so a lot of people were expected. Around 18:20, I was in O2 Academy Islington. I missed Generation Graveyard (the opening act) because they were on stage around 17:50… too early, and to be honest their music is not my cup of tea.
RED SUN REVIVAL hit the stage at 18:30 and “captured” all the people that were present. Old school Goth Rock sound enriched with violin and Rob’s outstanding vocals. A truly excellent performance! They are becoming bigger day by day and -as I have already said- they released the best album of 2012, if you ask me. As the festival had to follow a strict timeline until 22:00 o’clock, the 3 first bands had to play a short set of only 30 minutes.
Their exact setlist:
Without You
Running From The Dawn
Miracles
Forgive Us Now
Lost For Words
My Child
After a 10-minute break, THE FACES OF SARAH were on stage. I am a big fan of these guys for years and I am following them from their early days. Nick has one of the best and most unique voices in the Goth scene, no doubt about it. It was the first time that I saw them perform with their new line up. They have 2 guitarists now and their sound is more powerful than ever. Their new guitarist is Eddie Martin who played with Voices of Masada in their early days. They have a lot of new songs ready but they chose to play a few of their all time classics (just a 30 min set for them too). Nick’s voice is still unbelievable. He also dedicated “Belief” to me, which is my all time favorite FOS song!
Their exact setlist:
Second Skin
Sick and Tired
Song for Kali
All That is Divine
Misery Turns
Belief
After another 10-minute break, the legendary SKELETAL FAMILY conquered the stage. It was my first Skeletal Family live gig and I was impressed by their energy on stage. They played almost in the original line up, along with an outstanding new drummer. Anne-Marie Hurst was dancing and jumping all the time and her voice…. exactly like then! They started with their mega hit “Promised Land” and played a 45 minutes show, including all their classics. All the people enjoyed the gig very much, including me!
One last short break and the mighty NFD were on stage for an hour. I had listened to some samples of their new songs on the internet and I was looking forward to listen to a couple of these live as well. But I was really shocked when I saw that it was only 4 of them on stage. Tony was missing (bass guitar was recorded). Some people told me that Tony is going to be only a Fields of the Nephilim & The Eden House member from now on. I don’t know if this is accurate though. Well, ignoring this fact, I enjoyed the gig anyway. Bob and his gang started with their killer hit “When the Sun Dies” and then focused on their new material. They played 5 songs from their forthcoming new ep. Definitely some of the best songs that they have ever composed. Amazing guitar work from both Chris and James and Bob’s vocals exactly the way they should be! The ep will be out on August, so keep an eye. Of course they didn’t forget to play some of their old time classics like “senseless” (my favorite song from “Dead Pool Rising” album), “Light my Way” and “One Moment Between Us” which Bob dedicated to “the Greek guys”. Thanks Bob, we love you mate.
Their exact setlist:
When the Sun Dies
Got Left Behind
Remain in Chains
Red Sky Burning
The Unknown
Return to Dust
Senseless
Light my Way
-------------------------
One Moment Between Us
After some beers, pics and chatting with good old friends and some new ones, we made our way to Slimelight where the aftershow party would take place.
TERMINAL GODS were on stage around 24:00 o’clock and played a 40 min show, including some new and some old songs. Their new songs are brilliant and soon they will have a new ep out. A lot of people had gathered for them and everybody really enjoyed their Goth n’ Rock music style. Of course they didn’t forget reminding us that they are “a rock n’roll band” as always! Guys, guess what…you’re a Goth band, one that kicks ass too. Cheers to Robert for dedicating me “God Child”, my favorite TG song so far and an absolute Goth Rock anthem.
Their exact setlist was:
Intro
Persona
Lessons in Fire
God Child
Electric Eyes
Snake Bite Smile
Red Light Love
The Wheels of Love
The Card Player
King Hell
After a short break once more, the legendary RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY were on stage for a show of about 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was my first time seeing the Lorries on stage and I will be honest. I wasn’t impressed so much. I respect them but I don’t know…. maybe the fact that they were a bit “static” on stage, maybe because I never was a big fan of their music since I was always more into the “less post-punkish” Goth Rock sound, I didn’t enjoy the gig as much. One the other hand the audience loved their tunes and was jumping around in almost every song the band performed! There was a really high mood during their show. They played most of their classics including “talk about the weather”, “Jipp”, “walking on hands”, “Temptation” and many more, along with a couple of new ones.
