The Dillinger Escape Plan display pulverising machismo & adept guitar work on day two of Hevy
Hevy Music Festival 2011 review
Thursday 11th August 2011
After a restless night, I head off by myself to check out Brotherhood of the Lake. They come on dressed in black monks robes to ominous chanting, which is a nice nod to heavy metal stagecraft of old. They sound a lot like Poison the Well, once the robes come off, and are a excoriating way to start the day. Me vs Hero are on the Macbeth stage later, and can't seem to shake off the British New Found Glory tag. It doesn't seem to bother them. They want their show here to be a success more than any band so far, and bounce around the stage furiously.
They've almost pulled as big a crowd as Sonic Boom Six, and that's a big deal for the middle of the day. Their set is a giant victory, even if the onstage patter is of the "ARE? YOU? READY!?!?" variety. A limp, pale, unconscious boy is carried out from the crowd by his friends. Fingers are crossed on his behalf. The band don't see this happen, and carry on as usual, even urging the crowd on to go wilder. That's a little unfortunate, but it is a fine show bar the incident.
Later in the afternoon, Trash Talk's replacements, Feed The Rhino, take to the Jagermeister stage. It takes their monumental metallic power to make Hevy live up to its name. As devastating as the Deftones at their most savage, within thirty minutes they turn a damp field into a frothing warzone. The sides are fans versus security, and the boys in official uniforms are stretched to the limit repelling scores of invading crowdsurfers urged upon them by the band. FTR are technically adept, absolutely; but it is only as a means to an end. That end is an unfathomably intense performance.
The Ghost Of A Thousand's final show an hour later on the same stage in unsurprisingly a massive draw. The bodies stretch back as far as the eyes can see, and the band take them through a career spanning set. They run for less than an hour, and the whole thing seems over far too soon. They close with 'Bored of Math', which showcases everything that made them special, with its direct emotional tug and scything riffage. Here's hoping to a return one day, sooner than later.
OFF!, are a punk supergroup, with members of Black Flag and Red Kross in their number, amonst others. They come on like the Jesus Lizard but faster, and with out the acrobatics. They're old school straight punk, and in 15 songs they turn around half of the crowd. Doubt they care too much about that, having already scored a lifetime of achievement between them. But it is always worth watching older gentlemen acting disgracefully and throwing themselves around a stage like indestructible rubber toys.
The Dillinger Escape Plan are tonight's big draw, and there is an obvious gap in class between themselves and the band finishing up on the Red Bull stage before they come on. Their lighting is the best of the festival, and they warm the chilly crowd up with hits like 'Panasonic Youth' and the cream of their new album. I'm not one for shock and awe, but they leave my jaw hanging with displays of pulverising machismo and adept guitar work. They are one for the memory banks.
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