YOU know that something, somewhere, has gone wrong, when the only thing anyone is talking about after a show is the support bands.
While Devil Sold His Soul didn’t quite live up to tonight’s expectations, their opening acts were the ones lapping up the attention.
Leeds lads Curses were first on the bill and did a sterling job at warming up The Cockpit, but it was Kent quintet Feed the Rhino that turned out to be the night’s high point.
Front man Lee Tobin’s dedication to the crowd was especially admirable, and while he may have failed to get more than three people into the pit, he certainly succeeded in grabbing everybody’s attention.
Hailed as the new Gallows by more than a few gig goers, and judging by the number of newly bought t shirts that exited the building, they’re definitely ones to look out for on the hardcore scene over the coming year.
The headliners would have done well to learn from their predecessors. While they weren’t on particularly bad live form, the set dragged aimlessly through 2010 release ‘Blessed and Cursed’ before they finally threw in some older favourites for good measure.
In particular, ‘Sirens Chant’ managed to heighten the dull atmosphere, if only for a few minutes. For a venue so small and a gig so intimate, the crowd and band barely engaged – unless you count singer Ed Gibbs allowing a girl in the front row to stroke his fringe. Weird.
It seems that Devil Sold His Soul have developed a sound that has outgrown venues like The Cockpit, but unfortunately haven’t got the fan base to follow them there. Move over, we want to see Feed The Rhino again.
