Basement @ The Old Blue Last

Free shows seem to pop up all around London around Christmas. Goodtime Boys, the Holy Roar Christmas show and then, to crown it all, Basement and friends at the Old Blue Last, free as a bird. One of this country’s best emerging bands playing in one of its coolest small venues all for the cost of a tube ticket into East London, no brainer right?

Certainly the place was packed, with an increasingly large crowd of snapback wearing fans of melodic hardcore milling around the downstairs bar well before doors. Indeed, by the time Hospitals took to the stage the venue looked very much like it was pushing its capacity. The band didn’t need any more encouragement to go mental, with squalls of guitar, vocal screams and the very present danger that, with all the energy being expended on the rather small stage, one of the band members was going to fall off. Yet despite this the songs were still tight and easily recognisable as those recorded on the band’s ‘Hospitals’ EP. Had it been any other show they would most certainly been higher up the bill.

Our Time Down Here were, to be honest, a bit of an enigma. While they delivered an impressive live show they jarred slightly with the rest of the bill. After opening with heavy riffs and screamed backing vocals I was a bit of a shock to find vocalist Will Gould singing in a ‘clean’ style that didn’t quite match the music. At other times the heavy riffs were dropped for more classic punk stylings and at one point the things even started sounding remotely pop-punk. It was kind of like watching a slightly confused version of Sharks, trying to stick too many styles and influences together and although being good in parts, not quite pulling it off.

The same can most defiantly not be said for Breaking Point. Everyone knew what was about to go down the moment the band stepped up to their instruments. Despite being two members down (with Basement vocalist Andrew Fisher filling in on Bass) the predicted heavy as lead set with accompanying pit action was astonishingly good. Leagues above their slightly lack lustre Edge Day set the brilliant ‘Judgement’ EP was played in full along with tracks such as the mighty ‘Cautious Eyes’, all of them inspiring the full spectrum of crowd responses. Side to sides, two stepping, mic grabs and stage dives all combined to turn the front of stage area into something resembling a warzone and you had to feel sorry for the lone security man who clearly had no idea what was going on. British straight edge at its finest hour.

Of course the headliners were always going to be a very different beast from BXP. Basement may well win the award for the band that has developed fastest this year. From releasing their debut LP on the back of a single six track EP they have toured America, supported the likes of Title Fight (and, early next year will be doing the same for Touché Amore) and played blistering sets at Hevy and Ghostfest. If you’re going to list the most loved bands in the hardcore scene right now, they’ve got to be near the top. As a result their set was, from start to finish, received with a kind of euphoria crossed with manic desire to sing every syllable of every song that I haven’t seen at a show in a long time. Sure there was no two stepping or furious fist pumps, it’s not that kind of music, but the crowd energy none the less was astounding. Everyone seemed to be determined to be near the band, all of the time.

True to form Basement didn’t disappoint. ‘I Wish I Could Stay Here’ was played in its entirety (along with a handful of EP tracks) with energy and passion and a dozen other things beside. Andrew Fisher’s raw, emotional vocals coupled with the excellent live form of the band members behind him made for one hell of a show. ‘Fading’ and ‘Plan To Be Surprised’ hit the roof while ‘Early Grey/Ellipses’ saw the crowd go stratospheric. Even guitar related technical problems and the by now massive over capacity crush in the venue couldn’t dampen spirits. Crowd surfing and mic grabs (including one from yours truly during closing track ‘March’) continued to rain down with the band look pretty fucking happy about the whole experience. By the end there wasn’t anyone to be seen without both a layer of sweat and an ecstatic grin on their face.

Looking back a few days on (because it has taken me that long to work out what to say) I can safely say that the whole show was one of the best I’ve seen all year. It was one of those rare occasions when every band had something new the offer the crowd and the whole event was bathed in a party atmosphere that would have got even the grumpiest stage potato smiling. Breaking Point were particularly spectacular but the final word has to be saved for the headliners themselves. Basement, who I’ve been waiting to see all summer, delivered the most enjoyable set I’ve seen all year (and possibly longer). Beautiful, well-crafted songs performed with conviction and heart. It’s the kind of thing that makes live music, at its best, so so much better than any CD you’ll ever own, because in the end, when a band work their guts out on stage, you can’t help but fall a little bit in love with them.