The Ocean’s Eyes @ The Garage 24/05/13

As It Is were a band full of surprises. They came onstage in a subdued fashion, and one of the members kept wandering off  and into the crowd for no apparent reason – safe to say I was confused. Then however, their set began. For such a small person, frontman Patty Walters takes up a surprising amount of space, so played their set from the floor with the audience, doing multiple jumping splits. Although this did mean that the rest of the band got ignored for most of the set, Patty’s fun, audience including style of performance (which strongly reminded us of Yashin)  simply made the crowd happy, and they were a lovely band to watch. He announced that they were a band from Brighton, but then had an American accent and turned out to be from Minneapolis. They describe their sound as Transatlantic pop punk, but this doesn’t really do them justice as they are too good to be categorised. Give them a listen!

Patty Walters

Following them, greeted with ear-splitting fangirl screaming was Amaryllis. Catchy songs and great stage presence make them immediately an enjoyable band. It’s hard to believe that these have only been a band for around 7 months, they couldn’t be more confident or fun to watch. I’ve been trying to catch them live for a while now and they did not disappoint!

Then, sadly, it was time for The Ocean’s Eyes final EVER show. This was a strange, strange performance. Luke was his usual, funny, bizarre facial expression making self and even had an amusing conversation with his family during their set..except he seemed to be the only one having a good time. Andy said ‘Isn’t it ironic that we’re playing you new songs but we’re splitting up’ and it just makes you wonder whose idea it was and why they are ending. Even sadder, their new songs are possibly the most wonderful tracks I’ve ever heard in my life. So their final performance consisted of Luke seeming like a 5 year old on a sugar high and the others appearing grumpy – but it was The Ocean’s Eyes, I couldn’t ever not love them.

The End Of The World Tour @ O2 Islington 21/12/12

The first band to grace the stage with their presence was Set No Sail. With almost zero crowd interaction and an audience that mainly  consisted of the bands friends whose only purpose seemed to be to push people around and generally be as irritating as possible, it  wasn’t the most enjoyable performance I’d ever seen. That being said, Elliot McAllister had a lovely voice and their sound really   reminded me of bands such as Lower Than Atlantis. Although I didn’t think their performance was very good (which I don’t think they can entirely be blamed for) I think they are a band that are worth keeping an eye on.

Hugo Jackson

Then came Hugo Jackson’s one man band Shake and Shout. It definitely wasn’t the most thrilling performance I’d ever seen, but Hugo seemed very comfortable on stage and came across as a genuinely nice person which made it enjoyable to watch. The best song was a cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’, it captured everyone’s attention and had them singing along. Hugo also playing guitar for The Famous Class, who are also worth having a listen to.

Next was A Story To Tell, who seemed to have drawn a far bigger crowd than any band so far in the evening. Jack Wycherley (vocals) was the first to keep up good crowd interaction that night, and Chris Beale (bass/vocals) entertained the audience when he informed us he didn’t like his own song.  They performed a beautiful cover of  Goo Goo Dolls ‘Iris’ and all in all there wasn’t a fault to be found in their set.

Following them were Burn So Bright. It has to be said that unless you are Paramore or We Are The In Crowd it’s hard to be a female fronted band because they just don’t get the same kind of support as male fronted bands, so I tried to watch these with an open mind.  However Burn So Bright are a band that that don’t seem to have anything special about them at all. Millie Peters (vocals) seems to focus most of her attention on her hand movements and throwing her hair about, she doesn’t really have a voice that’s enjoyable to listen to. The only thing that prevented them from being entirely boring was Matt O’Neill’s (guitarist) fantastically passionate performance, he appeared totally involved in his music and was so enjoyable to watch.

Charlie Robery

Finally it was time for The Ocean’s Eyes. This wasn’t a normal performance for them as it was Charlie Robery’s (bass) final show, so it was more of a farewell to him. Luke McInroy (vocals) was in a ridiculously hyper mood, dove into the crowd and ended up lying on the floor giggling like a mad man! It was an emotional performance, Andy Dutnall (guitar/vocals) gave Charlie a lovely farewell speech and they all lifted him in the air during their final song. As it was also meant to be the end of the world that night, they encouraged the  crowd to go wild and dance/jump around, it was a crazy and amazingly enjoyable evening – as any gig that includes The Ocean’s Eyes is.  I’m looking forward to hearing the new album (Luke informed me it’s going to be the most amazing 7 songs I’ve ever heard in my life so we should all have high expectations!) at some point in 2013!

Blood On The Dance Floor @ Kings College 17/11/12

I said only the world ending would keep me from seeing The Ocean’s Eyes again. Thankfully the world didn’t end. I got to see them. Although everything didn’t quite go to plan, we got there an hour early, but for some stupid reason they don’t start letting people in early enough before the first band goes on – it resulted in us missing most of The Ocean’s Eyes set and only getting to see two songs. I could actually relate to crazy fangirls at that moment, I literally thought I was going to have a meltdown!

What we did get to see of them though was, as usual, fabulous. Luke seemed the most confident I’ve ever seen him, between each song  he talked non stop and at one point jumped into the crowd. They’re a band that really seem to connect with the crowd. Most people didn’t know them, so it wasn’t necessarily their most enjoyable show, no one was really getting into the music, but they preformed brilliantly. Luke even recognised me and my friend and waved from the stage!

Luke McInroy

Then Hollywood pop rockers It Boys! took to the stage, I wasn’t expecting anything from them (I’d literally just gone to see The Ocean’s Eyes) but they were fantastic. There seemed to be no choice but to jump along, It Boys! and the crowd were moving in perfect synchronisation, it really was something to experience. They swept you away with their energy, I got totally absorbed into their performance. Matt Cut (vocals) voice was flawless and he sang directly to some fans, getting right in their camera lenses. At one point they decided they were going to do some Gangnam Style which was highly entertaining.  All in all you couldn’t find fault in their performance.

Matt Cut

Finally, it was Blood On The Dance Floor. Say their name and you will get two reactions, either ‘I would prefer to stab nail files in my eyes than listen to them’ or ‘They are they most brilliant band in existence’, but one thing has to be accepted – they put on an incredible show. Fake blood, glitter, Union Jack flags being lobbed into the crowd? All in a nights work for Blood On The Dance Floor.

We were right at the stage and could see Dahvie and Jayy hanging around by the doors, once others started to notice our ear drums almost shattered with all the screaming, but we had absolutely no excitement for them. However once the music started and they ran on stage we were well and truly swept up in the excitement.

I can understand why people don’t like them, but they do manage to put on an entire show. Dahvie and Jayy spoke for ages between songs, and you could really tell how much they love each other. As a person who knows nothing about them, I wasn’t prepared for how they would talk to the crowd. At one point Dahvie started talking about how no one should ever let bullies get them down – it was actually surprisingly  touching.

It really was a fantastic night. Blood On The Dance Floor are really something else, they can’t be compared to any other band.

Jayy Von Monroe

Big Gigs vs Small Gigs

I was thinking about all the gigs I’ve been to (which admittedly isn’t many) and how they compared to each other. I went to All Time Low last February, that was the first thing I’d ever been to, and was probably the best night of my entire life. Then I went to see Room

This is how close we were to Austin Carlile and the rest Of Mice & Men

94 in March, and they were a relatively small band playing at a tiny venue. After the show all the bands came down into the room and met their fans, signed things, had photos taken and were just generally friendly and chatted to everyone. I was a bit socially awkward though at that point so didn’t really say anything and I kind of just wandered round in a permanent state of bewilderment!

In May I went to Slam Dunk – the first festival type thing I’d been to. While we were queuing, Austin Carlile (frontman of Of Mice & Men) just casually wandered out and started chatting to people (I once again was in shock and stared like a mad person!) he asked the man in front of us what band he was most looking forward to, he replied ‘Don Broco’ and Austin went ‘..Well I’ve never heard of them!’ and from that point I knew the day was going to be a memorable one. I didn’t know what to expect from it, and me and my friend kind of got stuck in a room at one stage for three hours. It was definitely worth it though, we got to witness a crowd surfing Spiderman and were right at the barrier for Of Mice & Men.

Then in August, September and October I went to more small gigs. At these ones you get to meet the band members and they are always all so nice. We made cupcakes for The Ocean’s Eyes at their last two gigs, and they actually ate them (and nobody died, everything went better than expected! They even got a mention in their tour diary video.) and they are always happy to spend so much time talking and having photos taken and signing multiple things for you.

The atmosphere at things like All Time Low and Slam Dunk are almost overwhelming. I felt ecstatically happy when All Time Low came on stage and started playing Time Bomb, I now can’t listen to that song without thinking of that one night.

Small gigs also have a brilliant atmosphere though, and you get to meet them. Ok they’re not famous (yet!) but they’re so nice it doesn’t even matter.

The video that mine and my friends cupcakes got a mention in!

Gig people

I was looking at my photos from The Ocean’s Eyes gig last Friday and I came across a picture of  the crowd and it reminded me of something that really irritated me. There was one person there with his friend who didn’t move a muscle the entire gig, sing along to anything and was even on his phone for most bands sets. If you’re not planning on getting involved in the music/atmosphere, WHY GO AT ALL? That’s one of the best things about going to gigs, singing along and feeling like you’re a part of what’s going on, that’s what’s so enjoyable! I don’t know, it also seems really insulting to the bands, you came to see them but then you don’t even have the decency to pay attention to their performance. He really annoyed me.

There seems to be only a few catogories that  people at gigs fall in to. You get the mad fangirls that scream at EVERY SINGLE THING anyone on stage says (Luke from The Ocean’s Eyes actually said ‘Why are you screaming? You can’t even hear what I’m saying!’) and have a total meltdown and cry when they meet the band members (we actually witnessed that at Room 94, a girl started bawling and one of the band members was patting her awkwardly on the back like ‘I really don’t know what to do here’) it’s almost like they forget that people in bands are just humans too!

Then you get the people that seem like they don’t care and act really bored, but even worse the people that get really in to dancing and push and shove you all over the place. There was one girl at the Room 94 gig that draped herself all over people and lent on them to try and get closer to the stage, she wasn’t quite normal and I think every single person wanted to kill her. When I was at Slam Dunk watching Set Your Goals these really, really tall people came up behind us and starting pushing us further and further forward in to the barrier, so much so we were convinced our ribs were going to crack and left for fear of dying..ok that might be a slight exaggeration but it was slightly worrying!

My favourite kind of gig people are the friendly ones that just start conversations, me and my friend have met so many lovely people at gigs, it’s one of those situations where it’s entirely normal to just start chatting to people. I think every single person should go to at least one gig in their life, they’re my favourite thing to do in life!

Luke McInroy off stage singing in the crowd

The Ocean’s Eyes @ O2 Academy Islington 26/10/12

Luke McInroy, frontman of The Ocean’s Eyes

This is the third time I’ve been to see The Ocean’s Eyes and every time I think it can’t be humanly possible for them to get any better. Every time they prove me wrong and I come away in awe at their brilliant performance and annoy all my friends and family by humming their songs for weeks afterwards.

There’s something about The Ocean’s Eyes that no matter what venue you see them at they fill the whole room with their presence. From the moment they walk on stage you know they are a band that you won’t be forgetting quickly.

Friday night was probably the best I’ve ever seen them perform. Mitch was having trouble with his guitar but they didn’t falter, Andy kept talking to the crowd to keep us entertained – no technical issue was going to ruin their night. Their frontman, Luke, is so entertaining to watch you never want him to leave the stage. This time in the middle of singing ‘Wake Up!’ he asked the crowd ‘Are you awake London? Because this song is called Wake Up!’ and then laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, I was almost in tears.

To end their set all the bands that had played (Calls Landing, My Forever, Speaking In Shadows and 8th Time Luckie) came rushing on stage (and this was one tiny stage!) and lifted Luke into the air, there was an infectious air of celebration, but all too soon their set was over.

They are playing again November 17th, supporting Blood On The Dance Floor..only the world ending will stop me from being there!