They have often described as two of the brightest prospects, two bands which are truly emerging and set for great things. Against a backdrop of each releasing their debut albums over the least five weeks and this show at the Deaf Institute, Marmozets and Lonely The Brave showed that words such as prospect and emerging do them a disservice.
The Deaf Institute serves as a perfect venue for a double headline gig of this type – allowing for the energy of the absolutely white-hot, sold out crowd to circulate and grow more and more.
Following an opening from 5-piece band Allusondrugs who showed that they clearly have a flare for producing some outstanding tracks, Marmozets took to the stage. Bearing in mind that their debut album The Weird And Wonderful Marmozets was only released earlier this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there could well be a degree of unfamiliarity about the music which could pass through to the crowd. Actually, no. Taking away the fact that the most of the crowd clearly had an intimate knowledge of Marmozets’ music already, their songs are incredibly easy to take to immediately.
Marmozets at The Deaf Institute 1 October 2014
Their performance was exceptional. Instrumentally, they could not be faulted – stunning guitar work and riffs all round, a strong driving bassline and in Josh Macintyre they have a drummer who keeps everything tight and sets the tone, frequently standing for extra leverage to eke out every last drop of aggression and power he can. From the opening of Born Young And Free, this was a relentless and formidable performance with an unparalleled energy level – in fact singer Becca Macintyre, was so full of energy, bouncing around the stage that no doubt many camera shots of her may just show blurred light! She’s far more than just energy though – interacting with the crowd with ease, her vocals were delivered perfectly, tinged with just the right amount of aggression, as tracks such as Why Do You Hate Me? and Captivate You whipped the crowd into a frenzy, with a circle pit developing which bassist Will Bottomley had no qualms about throwing himself into later on, but also showing that she can deliver the emotional aspect too, particularly during the epic performance of Back To You.
Marmozets at The Deaf Institute 1 October 2014
There’s a reason why Marmozets were nominated for Best British Newcomer at the 2013 Kerrang! Awards and were voted Best New UK Band by Big Cheese Magazine – they certainly demonstrated it here.
Cambridge rockers Lonely The Brave, whose debut album The Day’s War was released at the beginning September, allow their music to take the absolute centre stage – almost literally as singer David Jakes actually stands behind the front line of guitarist Mark Trotter and Joel Mason and bass player Andrew Bushen. It’s a brave policy, but it’s one which allows the songs to ferment, for the music and vocals to fill the room without distraction, fully enveloping the crowd. It worked.
Delivering a set of atmospheric and emotional delights, Lonely The Brave, produced some truly stadium moments, fans raising them arms in the air and singing every word back to them, not least in their rendition of the simply stunning The Blue The Green, a song which can raise hairs on the back of your neck.
Delivering an emotional and intense performance, some could criticise the lack of crowd interaction and onstage performance, but in some ways these would detract from the atmosphere, from the emotion, from the incredible high which they produce with immense tracks such as Deserter and Dinosaurs which enjoy some wonderful explosive moments. Their album has been much lauded, and rightly so – much like their live performance it’s all about quality and precision, outstanding riffs with thoughtful lyrics, carefully structured to create a spine-tingling sensation.
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