Source: Gemma Bell
Bring Me The Horizon. Playing The O2. Just let those words sink into your brain for a moment. The band that released Count Your Blessings, and ‘No Need For Introductions I’ve Read About Girls Like You On The Back Of Toilet Doors’ is now one of the biggest bands of their generation, and are playing above Enter Shikari in a 20,000 capacity venue.
Speaking of, Enter Shikari were a worthy band to pick as a main support. Shikari have never been one to shy away from playing any stage, big or small, but it does feel now like they are just supposed to be in arenas. The O2 was barely able to keep songs like ‘Juggernauts‘ and ‘The Last Garrison‘ contained, and even heavier tracks ‘Hoodwinker‘ and ‘Slipshod‘ (which vastly benefited from the over-increased bass levels) were enjoyed to the fullest by all present.
Source: Gemma Bell
Enter Shikari have a way to go before their fan base is large (or comprehensive) enough to headline The O2, but at this point it only feels like a matter of time, especially if they can manage to pull off such a good show without their usual array of lazers and lighting rigs.
Some people are still questioning why it’s Bring Me The Horizon, out of all of the bands to have emerged when many of their fans were teenagers, who are now playing the O2. Whilst the discussions on that are not likely to stop any time soon, we can report that Bring Me have grabbed their opportunity with both hands and seem incredibly reluctant to let go. And after having seen the show they put on at The O2, we’re ok with that.
Even the staunchest BMTH critic would be hard pushed to deny that they put on one hell of a show. Strangely enough for those commenting that Oli Sykes’ can’t scream any more, his screaming was by far and away the best part about his performance. His clean vocals, whilst adequate, did not match the level needed to pull off songs like ‘Go To Hell For Heaven’s Sake‘, although Jordan Fish’s backing vocals did go some way to cover for him.
Source: Gemma Bell
Everything, from the band’s clothing, to the content put on the large screens behind them, to the stage set-up, and the between-song interludes, was pushed to exactly the right level of theatricality, particularly considering the crowd there. Moshers who were there mainly to see them play ‘Chelsea Smile‘ and newer fans who like the electro-rock feel to ‘Throne‘ and ‘Doomed‘ could be seen having just a good time as each other – at the end of the day a vast majority of the crowd were people who had spent much of their formative teenage years listening to Bring Me The Horizon evolve with them, and it was those people who went the most crazy.
Credit where it’s due: Bring Me The Horizon felt ready, willing and able to be headlining The O2 and if they are going to be the next band to be the biggest voice of the millennial emo crowd, then it’s shows like this one that are going to be the extremely high benchmark for all future performances.
