Nightmare Of You at The Garage, London
Reviewed on Mar 6, 2006 by cathyreay
The show you are seconds from reading about was probably the most eagerly anticipated of the month here in London, both by the media and fans. Upcoming megastars Nightmare Of You are set to hit the stage, a stage that somewhere holds the DNA of a pre-pubescent Blink 182, and the scene kids are out in their hundreds to snap up this much talked about event. But can the band live up to high expectations?
I refuse to believe that this gig was overhyped, despite the amount of attention it received prior to happening. Nightmare Of You recently gained palpable recognition as openers for Fall Out Boy's UK sellout tour in February. On the back of that, the band returned just a month later to feed new fans with the same material in the hopes that their British-flavoured rock sound could penentrate the heart and soul of the country it is most influenced by. After a string of dates supporting The Delays, the US quartet are ready to go solo.
Having only ever headlined the 100 capacity Barfly before, The Garage, which tonight was filled with 500 eager faces, is a definite step in the right direction to superstardom. Unfortunately I was unable to catch the support acts, so in evaluating the show I am going entirely on NOY's performance. And what a performance it was. Having seen two members of the band just an hour earlier in a packed record store, playing an acoustic set for adoring fans and signing their latest CD, it's pretty incredible that they were able to get back up on stage so quickly and fill the room with as much energy as they had just done instore.
The evening got off to a shaky start, Brandon Reilly's (vox, guitar) voice slightly hoarse. But he regained himself after a few swigs of beer and choice onstage cursewords. His confidence grew in leaps and bounds as he sung his pretty heart out through each of the songs on their self-titled album, and he inadvertently created a battlefield between audience members and himself as he tried to outdo them in his lively, playful, 'Jarvis Cocker' style all-dancing manner. This alone was enough to satisfy the hungry crowd, but coupled with the band's outstanding musicianship throughout made the night pretty damn unforgettable.
I don't know their names, so let's just say that the two other guitarists and drummer were all on top form tonight, all smiles and appreciative nods as they pointed to various cameras shoved in their direction. The guitarists were flawless, often bridging the gap between songs with eager and expert strumming. The creme de la creme however was at the end as the gig was finished with the band's US hit "Heaven Runs On Oil", where all three guitarists played a few precious minutes of outstanding riffs that left the crowd gasping for air they didn't know they'd forgotten to breathe in. Beaded with sweat, Brendon leapt into the audience and the lights went down, pre-empting the group's struggle to get offstage as fans harassed them for pictures and autographs. This is a night Kerrang! Magazine won't forget in a hurry. And neither will I. If you're into The Smiths and Pulp and any other British rock icons of either period, snap these boys up before they're playing venues you need binoculars to see them at.
Gig Information
| Venue: | The Garage, London |
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| Date: | March 6th, 2006 |
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| Viewed: | 853 times |
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