Martes 21 Jul 2009, 11:31
Kerrang! Relentless Energy Drink Tour 2009
The Kerrang! Relentless Tour brought a mix of music lovers to Cardiff.
From the epic undertones of Dir En Grey to the in your face screaming of Bring Me The Horizon and finally the eccentric, energetic and enigmatic Mindless Self Indulgence.
Dir en grey lit up the stage with their ferocious and passionate performance. With incredible song smiths as guitarists they wove out intricate melodies accompanied by a huge drum kit.
Their singer, Kyo, screeched and smoothed over his words as well as throwing all his energy into their stage presence against a brooding background. Dir En Grey have been incredibly successful in Japan, and are reaching out to inspire new fans across the world. Truly deep music to get lost in.
Up next to rival the incredible sound of Dir En Grey were Bring Me The Horizon, the only British headliner of the night. As the well known face (or should I say tattoo-covered body) of Ollie Sykes walked out, you could feel the chaos in the air. His screaming vocals are almost perfect in their aggression and sound.
With every note tuned to perfection and with flawless quality they muscled through their set. With many face to face confrontations between Sykes and the crowd (especially whilst jumping from speakers into the pit) their set ended with Chelsea Dagger and an onslaught of crowd surfers inspired by the chance to high five the lead singer as they passed.
To top the bill, Mindless Self Indulgence's Steve Righ? came on stage to apologise about not playing Cardiff before then after the iconic Jimmy Urine walked on stage to theatrical classical music, the band launched into the savage and witty Shut Me Up.
The band then jumped into two new songs from their latest album, If with Mastermind laden with teenage references and Lights Out about violent celebrities. Their aggressive yet playful stage presence is led by the ball-of-energy singer and backed up by their dry guitarist.
Between each song Jimmy berates the crowd (especially the fact that 90% of the audience are under 18) or other worldly forces. The self-centred lyrics of tracks like Issues and Bomb This Track are easily interpreted from the Jimmy’s perspective, but as their finale lip-sync of No Business Like Show Business proves, it’s all just for show.
The interaction with the crowd was second to none, as all band members stayed after the show to sign autographs, as well as pulling a Jimmy lookalike on stage and accepting thrown gifts.
In return, Jimmy subjected the crowd to two instances of mooning during Bomb This Track, another song off the latest album which accompanied dance anthem Never Wanted To Dance and the kick-ass Evening Wear.
Luckily for true fans there were a couple of old classics like 1989,Tornado and the great MSI anthem, Stupid MF. With the lack of their full-time bassist, the three members seemed a little off-key and downbeat than usual, so when they do return to Cardiff, expect them to be better and bigger.
Their last song, Straight To Video ended the show as much as it was started with a well-known hit about burnt-out teenagers. Despite the supposed contempt towards their young audience, it seems Mindless Self Indulgence are forever young.