Band: Bad Religion
Support: Arcane Roots
Venue: Koko, London
Date: 20/08/2013
With over thirty years behind them as a band, its impressive to be seeing a mix of young and old in the crowd for Bad Religion tonight. Lonely faces stalk the crowds outside of Koko, begging for spare tickets for a show that could never have been anything but a sell out.
With that in mind, Arcane Roots take to the stage. With only a bare thirty minute set to impress an unfamiliar crowd, they waste no time with pleasantries and simply opt to play loud and fast. Thrashing through the hits of both their studio albums, ‘You Are‘ and new single ‘Belief‘ are the most captivating and will guarantee the band a few converts in the room tonight.
A spray of water from the front of the stage is the signal for headliners Bad Religion to appear. Their hardcore fans stretch from each end of the venue to the other, chanting through every track from ‘Welcome To The New Dark Ages‘ to ‘Anesthesia‘.
Not one to miss out on a little audience participation either, frontman Greg Gaffin warns any conservatives in the audience of some potential offence they might take before launching into ‘Fuck You‘. He’s clearly been reading the papers too, as he dedicates ‘Sanity‘ to the newborn Royal family member.
‘No Direction‘ is by the far the highlight of the evening, with not a single person in the room able to keep still. The crowd is a sea of joyful, bouncing souls with no intent to stop. As the band return with ‘Fuck Armageddon‘ for their encore, there are literally audience members hanging from the walls in a bid for a better view.
Living proof that some bands only improve with age, Bad Religion, much like their audience, show no sign of slowing down, or any lack of relevancy.
9/10
Reviewer: Natalie Gardiner
