6th September 2011
Before the big relocation of DoesItRock HQ out of the city and beyond the green belt, it was only fitting to head out for one final gig to bid farewell to the ease of TFL transport home.
As such, I found myself in The Borderline grabbing a beer as tonight’s compere (complete in doctor’s outfit) took the mike to introduce the first band of the night No Americana. Despite having a terrible name for a band from Brummyland, this was a triumphant set of soaring rock. Their classic rock sound was well rounded balancing raw power, danceable rhythms, melodic vocals, sing-a-long chorus’s and nifty guitar licks. They were remarkably confident and as such put in a superbly polished performance packed with brilliant radio friendly tunes such as Wax Poetic (already play listed by Kerrang) that far exceeded their billing tonight. One of the most impressive first-up support slots I have witnessed in a long time. I expect these guys to move swiftly through the ranks, so catch them while you can.
No Americana
Another well rounded radio ready and PR marketers dream were up next in the shape of Six Hour Sundown. Now to me, a female fronted to a rock n’ roll band with stadium sized ambitions is either a rare treat (Halestorm, Damone etc…) or one doomed to failure. Sadly these young hopefuls fell into the latter category. Her attempts at being a rock diva came across as a frail whimper of solitude amongst the towering power chords of the solid instrument wielders. One track of note was such Angels (a sombre ballad no less), but even this was littered with clichéd lyrics and overly dramatic melodic guitars. Despite the lack of a coherent sound they showed promise with their riff making, plundering a couple of killer breakdowns and scale runs. Outclassed by their subordinate band on the night, says much about this set.
Six Hour Sundown
Tonight, little to my knowledge was The Treatment’s debut album launch party This Might Hurt. Odd, particularly as I had been listening to this album since 2010 and almost bought it the last time our paths crossed @ Underworld . Particulars aside, tonight was the showcase of a reinvigorated band playing their first headline show in front of a packed out crowd, quite a feat given today is Monday! After a slight technical hitch the boys strutted out to roaring approval and kicked straight into their big riffing album opener The Departed. In fact every song was stacked with enough guitar wattage to blow a tunnel under London to rival CrossRail. Special mention must go to latest single Drink, F**k, Fight, containing enough booze fuelled reckless abandon to match those on show during the London Riot’s.
The Treatment
Playing your first headline set is daunting, but if they were nervous, they didn’t look it as they struck a ferocious pace kicking out the best tracks from their re-packaged release. The Treatment’s staple diet of glam inspired hard rock hit equal vocal highs as their duelling Les Paul wails, with singer Matt Jones’ hagar–esque ball busting howls being both distinctive and powerful. Balladry was masterful here tonight, without the usual soppy lyrical fare it gave the vocals a chance to truly soar and the crowd the chance to sway along.
Matt Jones
With the longer set which comes with being headliners, they turned to some tried and tested cover versions to plug the gaps. Their selections, both hugely influenced by their manager’s exploits in the UK Rock scene, produced stunning results. First out of the canon was Road Rocket( Laurie Mansworth’s former band More), a thundering heavy metal tune with flaming blues licks, demonic drumming and a frantic guitar solo. The song of the night (possibly the year so far) came with the second. Its hard to describe just how excited I became as the opening bass thumps of Hurricane Party‘s Killer resonated through my head. A moment of pure joy, exuberance and Classic Rock Muscle… I loved ever second. It was after this tune you realise the striking similarities between those bands, no bad thing in my mind.
Encore’s are clearly a new thing to The Treatment, as they had run out of material upon their return to the stage. Unfazed, they decided to play The Doctor, comically, for the second time of the night! Ignoring this minor blip, this was an electrifying live show from one of the UK’s most promising Hard Rock talents.
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