Band: Fearless Vampire Killers
Support band: Fort Hope
Venue: Camden Underworld, London
Date: 25th April 2013
Its definitely been a good year for London’s own Fearless Vampire Killers. The steampunk-inspired troupe are on the last leg of their Diamonds and Disgrace tour, following the release of their new EP ‘Exposition: The Five Before The Flames’.
Supporting them are post-hardcore quartet Fort Hope. Playing to another band’s crowd must be difficult, but it’s a feat that they take on with ease. They even slow things down for a brief moment with ‘Time Is The Rope That Binds Us Together’, only to tear into new single ‘Control’ for their closing number.
As the wait for tonight’s headliners begins, swarms of goggle-wearing teens and post-teens crowd into the front of the stage. The chanting begins. ‘FVK, FVK, FVK’. Then the lights dim and the dark venue glows in a sea of phones, straining to catch a glimpse of frontmen Kier Kemp and Laurence Beveridge.
Playing a mixture of crowd favourites from ‘Militia of the Lost’ and ‘Exposition..’, the switch between singers is almost seamless. Both make full use of the stage, dashing from end to end as if they haven’t been on an exhausting UK tour for the past two weeks. Energy is the keyword here, and the entire band brings it in volumes.
‘Bite Down On My Winchester’ goes down a storm, as does new track ‘Death or Disgrace’. The eager crowd already have every word memorised and sing along accordingly.
Never afraid of bringing a sense of dramatics to the stage, Beveridge promises to tell a tale of ‘doing terrible things to sea monsters’. He gesticulates wildly throughout the performance, as if he really is acting the story out.
The level of showmanship is really impressive. One of the most stand out things about this band is that fact that they’ve always brought another dimension, the costumes, the themed albums. It’s this commitment that’s brought the crowd to their show and they don’t leave them disappointed. The band spend their last song posing for photos between each other’s legs and climbing the edge of the stage to reach out into the awaiting audience.
They return for a brief number, a cover of Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’. It’s a fitting finale for a band that have beaten the odds and defied naysayers to build a solid, devoted fanbase that have come out to see them tonight.
Reviewer: Natalie Gardiner
