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The ‘Here To Stay’ tour arrives at Birmingham's Asylum for the 13th date of its 15 show European tour. This purpose-built venue focuses on rock/metal/alternative music genres and boasts a sound system that uses, they say, ‘the same gear that Metallica use’.
First up, a gentle introduction to the show with an acoustic set from London based alt rock artist - Less Than Hollow, formed in 2021, and on this occasion ‘unplugged’. Formed in 2021, and usually supported by his talented band mates, Adam Jerome decided to go solo, and does a sterling job filling the venue with an amazingly full band sound with just his acoustic guitar and vocals, truly a top performer, and a stunned crowd reciprocated warmly with their
involvement and visible praise. An excellent cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’, highlighted
further Jerome’s ability to create a big, big, sound. The act has previously supported such heavy weights as Sleep Token, FOZZY, and Puddle of Mudd.
Next up, Dovecage, a female fronted pop punk quartet hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, formed in 2020. This tour brings them to the UK for the first time, and although the crowd didn’t seem to know who they were, or what to expect, their confusion soon waned, and they let the band know that what they were laying down, was being warmly received.
They profess their musical influences to come from the likes of Paramore, Foo fighters, and Blink-182, and have adopted the tagline ‘Underground Music For Our Generation’ to succinctly communicate their brand message. They began with ‘Bittersweet Goodbye’ immediately pumping energy into the crowd and promoting their engagement. Lead singer Kiara looked good and projected her presence well. They flawlessly performed their set featuring all 5 songs from their up-coming self-titled EP and will have gleaned from their reception by the crowd that they will be welcomed back.
The penultimate performance of the evening is proffered by what is usually a trio, but presents here tonight as a quartet, of hard rockers formed in 2017- Killakoi, another band coming from Charlotte, North Carolina, experiencing their first UK tour. This tight knit group, forming strong bonds as childhood friends, are no strangers to playing sold out shows and enjoy an ever-growing fan base. They claim their influences come from grunge, metal, pop, and active rock, and put them all to good use in delivering an exciting, highly energetic performance. Lead vocalist Jordan Mattacchione delivers a superb vocal style and bellowed out deep but tuneful lyrics with aplomb, with the grunge element of their repertoire being most prevalent.
Their song writing abilities are impressive with ’Better Off Dead’ and ‘Not For Nothing’ having a powerful and truly anthemic feel that takes you there. Their cover of Korn’s ‘Here To Stay’ was evidently a most welcome addition to the set and the headbangers where attending to duty in force! If the headliners weren’t waiting in the wings, the crowd may well have fiercely demanded more!
Then finally... Lansdowne. Formed in 2006, an alt metal quintet from Boston, USA. Moments before the band take the stage, their pre-recorded introduction begins. Powerful sounding music with fast resonating drums and bass strings, injected with urgent sounding chanting from a male choir; if you can imagine. This suddenly gives way to a lone, fast-paced,180 bpm ticking synth beat, overdubbed with a well enunciated English female accent saying - “Welcome to the Lansdowne experience. You have waited patiently, and you are all looking very sexy out there in the crowd. Are you ready?”
The band emerge and the guitarist begins playing along with the tempo of the synth beat that is still chugging away in the background. The drummer explodes into action and the band are rocking! Kicking it off with ‘Conquer them all’.
These heavily built men exude an almost intimidating presence with their angry defiant stamping and lunging, visually complementing the awesome energy in their music, and they maintained this through the whole of the set.
They ploughed into their songs with very little talking, it was a serious hard-hitting performance with their hit song ‘Burn Brighter’ and ‘Here To Stay’ off their new EP. The crowd loved it, singing and moving, reflecting the energy back at the stage.
All support acts were now in the crowd, supporting and enjoying the headliners. Awesome!
Words and Photos by Kieran Atkinson
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