This was our first gig of the year, and if this one is anything to go by, 2020 is shaping up nicely for great shows. Whilst Wage War is a relatively new discovery for me, it feels like I’ve been familiar with their music for a long time (it’s so damn catchy and memorable!) so getting the chance to see them live was definitely a treat.
Opening the night was Thornhill. Although they didn’t really bring anything new to the table in a musical sense, it was a decent start to proceedings and the set as a whole was fairly solid. The band could have had a little more movement onstage as it felt a little rigid at times, so having more variety to the performance would have helped engage the crowd better – especially since the songs all sounded fairly similar. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable set – there was definite potential in there.
Main support came from Ded, who were also new to me prior to the show. Swamping the small stage of Rebellion somewhat with their humongous scrim stands, they didn’t let this minor setback stop them from laying waste to the venue, beginning their set with a bang and not relenting until the final chords of the last song closed out. Their energy was off the chain, with frontman Joe working hard to engage with the crowd and get everyone moving ahead of the headliners. In particular, their closing track Anti-Everything packed a real punch and I already plan to catch this talented band live again some time.
The night definitely belonged to headliners Wage War though, who came onstage to rapturous cheers before launching into the first song of their set, Who I Am. The opening track of their latest album Pressure, the song works perfectly at setting the scene for things to come on the aforementioned album, and the same rings true in a live environment. The intro is extremely powerful and packs a punch, and the chorus in particular is massively memorable and passionate – so witnessing these two elements in the flesh is something special.
With the set featuring strong inclusions such as Prison, Alive, Ghost and Hurt, there were plenty of memorable and catchy songs to get involved with, and the amount of people you could see singing along and moving about to the music was really great to see. The way the band fed off the crowd’s response really lifted the performance up and you could see how much they were loving it too.
Closing the night with Stitch, the punchy and to-the-point song was the perfect ending to a fantastic performance. With a sold-out crowd and an electric atmosphere throughout, the show was a great way to kickstart 2020 – the bar has been set very high for shows for the rest of the year now!
