The Tangled Tour @ The Hope and Anchor

The Hope & Anchor advertises itself as something along the lines of ‘London’s Greatest Live Music Venue’. This, strictly speaking may not be true, but the sweaty basement that sits below the pub certainly doesn’t lack rock and roll history credential. It was where Joy Division played when the first ventured down south (as a poster above the entrance proudly proclaims) and The Specials, amongst others, have graced the stage in years gone by.



Now I’m not going to predict that any of the bands on the bill for the London leg of the Tangled Tour will end up with the same following of the bands mentioned above (I’m not psychic). But by half seven, with the venue already full and buzzing before a single band had even played you got an idea of what it might have been like the first time a certain Manchester band played there thirty odd years ago.

First up were Let’s Talk Daggers, who treated the room to noisy trash-fest that sounded a tad like Sonic Youth covering hardcore (or a hardcore band covering Sonic Youth). Despite guitar related technical difficulties the long, sprawling songs and jerky stage moves were more than entertaining. I overheard someone in the crowd comment that it was ‘the best set they’ve played’, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.

Swiftly following them, and in a similar musical vein, were Battle For Paris. Mixing material from their debut EP (‘With A Gun Between Your Teeth You Speak Only In Vowels’) and tracks from their upcoming debut, out next year on Tangle Talk, they were highly impressive. While they’re not exactly Dillinger Escape Plan the stop start rhythms and frantic pace of the songs have certain ‘mathsy’ quality that was given a vicious edge when played live. This, coupled with the fact their subject matter included Jaws references and playing too much COD and you couldn’t go far wrong.

The Long Haul marked the halfway point of the evening (in terms of bands at least). Their set was also the heaviest so far, with a vein of BWP style sludge running through most of the set. Again, technical difficulties hampered the band and you got the feeling that they weren’t quite playing to their full potential.

Now, as good as the first half of the gig had been, when Goodtime Boys walked on stage, the first of the ‘top three’ to play, the atmosphere shifted up a notch or two. Their stage time (accompanied by the first crowd ‘go mental’ moments of the night) was as expected; frantic guitars and tortured vocals served up with a generous helping of bat shit craziness. Two new songs made an appearance alongside EP tracks such as ‘Daylight’, and while the new stuff didn’t get the sing-alongs it was no less well received. Closing on ‘Harrow’, and with the whole venue covered in sweat and spilled drinks the set was a reminder of why Goodtime Boys are one of the most exciting live bands playing in the UK right now.



Kerouac recently released a split with The Long Haul, which is hardly a surprising match because both bands share a similar brand of de-tuned, sludgy and aggressive hardcore. Despite the first third of their set being sabotaged by a distinctly tinny mic and grumpy soundman they still managed to show why their one of the more prominent bands in the UK hardcore scene. Full of energy, witty stage banter, crushingly heavy songs and with the band clearly having a load of fun on stage it was an all-round impressive affair. Points also get awarded for the last song band pile-up/bass wrecking. At the very least it shunted their soon to be released LP up my ‘things to watch out for’ list.

With the end of the Kerouac set there was only one band left on the bill, North Wales’ finest Bastions. With hype slowly building around their forthcoming debut album ‘Hospital Corners’ and a pretty monumental tour with Gallows this Summer behind them there was never going to be another band from the Tangled Talk roster headlining. As ever the set was a short, visceral affair, showcasing the new material in all its glory. This cut down the sing along options (with ‘Augury’ being the only new song in the set anyone was likely to have heard before) but this was more than made up for by the quality of the set. Frontman Jay Burne is possibly one of the most interesting people to watch I’ve seen, seemingly being able to scream and trash about the stage to the point you think he might throw up one minute and the next calmly dish out the thank yous between songs before starting it all over again. Based around that the live show was, as I’ve hinted at, a real treat. A little short maybe, but apart from that you could ask for more.

And with that, the night ended. I didn’t even mind that I missed the last train home and had to night bus it across half of London, sometimes it’s worth sitting on a bus full of smelly drunks in order to see a show. This was one of those times.