  
Due to the late arrival of a couple of the bands, soundcheck was started late, and was then delayed by a few minor technical problems including discovering that one of the amp heads was not just amplifying the guitar, it was also broadcasting what sounded like a German radio station - bizarre. As a result the doors opened late. This turned out not to be a problem as the audience wasnt exactly large - in fact the bands outnumbered the paying customers. Kobra and the lotus singer, Brittany described it as a "band show" - where you're basically just playing to the other bands. I suspect poor promotion was to blame as the rest of the tour had good audience sizes.
Given the poor turnout you could understand if some of the bands just went through the motions, but that wasnt the case - all the bands put in 100% and made an effort to impress.
First up was Speedshot, a young three piece band from Bedfordshire. They put in an energetic powerful performance which showed plenty of potential. I did think there was some very impressive guitar work but that the vocals weren't very clear although I wasnt sure if that was just down to the venue sound or if it was the singers vocals that just sounded that way.
Rating:5/10
Second up was another young band, Death Radio. Death radio have a thrash/punk style and were good and heavy. Sadly nothing really stood out as memorable though.
Rating: 5/10
Third up was due to be "To the lions", a local band. Due to the evening running late however, Kobra and the lotus elected to go next, leaving "To the lions" to close the night. Sadly due to travel reasons I wasn't able to stay for To the Lions - I did however watch them sound check and liked what I heard, so will look out for these guys in the future.
Kobra and the lotus are on their second UK tour in just over six months, showing how hard this Canadian band is prepared to work to win fans in the UK. They deserve a lot of credit for their touring - playing lots of smaller towns rather than just doing the usual three or four date tour of major cities that many bands do.
Having seen the bands first UK performances back in November 2009 I can say that they've come on leaps and bounds since then and really sound great. Musically they're tight, and Brittany's voice is sounding fantastic. They're all clearly having a great time on stage and put in a superb performance.
New bass player Pete Dimov in particular looks to be having a great time and you get the impression he couldnt stay still unless you nailed his feet to the stage (and I'm not sure even that would slow him down). Given the way he leaps around on the tiny stage, its amazing that none of the other band members suffer any injuries from colliding with his bass tonight. Tonight the band are all on top form and put in a great energetic performance for the dozen or so people there. Tonight's set includes a cover - the Iron Maiden classic, "Run to the hills". Tackling a popular classic is always a risk as failure to pull it off perfectly leads to inevitable poor comparisons against the original, but Kobra and the lotus really nail it - Brittany's powerful voice being able to handle the vocal demands of the song with ease. Also included in the set are songs from the bands second album (which has been recorded but won't be released for several months) and these sound great. Watching them tonight, its easy to see why the big record companies are interested in signing the band.
Rating 9/10
Kobra and the lotus photos: http://www.festivalphoto.net/pictures&concertID=19382&artist=Kobra+And+The+Lotus
Kobra and the lotus setlist:
Aria
Visionary
Run to the hills
Dark Passenger
Nothing good
Lonely
Nayana
Welcome
Death radio setlist:
Intro
Dashboard jesus
Probation
Last action hero
Hangover
No way out
Piss on me (I'm on fire)
Rough sex
No skin off my balls
Bad porno |
