Attack Attack + Support @ Hertford Marquee.

ATTACK ATTACK!
Tuesday 2nd December 2008
Hertford Marquee
W/ Scream!Shout!SayNothing!, They Sink Ships & Members of Me.

Scream!Shout!SayNothing! kicked off the evening in their normal loud and high energetic fashion. Fortunately SSSN are a band I had seen on previous occasions so I knew what to expect from them. I imagined though that a majority of the crowd were not as experienced with them as I would. Some danced, some sang along, some stood still.
I had last seen the band at Club 85 in Hitchin a few months back and really liked them. Tonight was no exception. The band were only one song into their set and I could already see some vast improvements in the lead singer, Ben Davis, not only on the movement side of things, but on the vocal side too. His screaming had come far since I last saw them.

The second song in their set was one I didn’t really like much for the simple (and kind of pathetic) reason that the intro dragged on for too long. I found myself just wishing they’d start singing! The song wasn’t bad- it’s just personal preference. Anyway, I had arrived at the venue while they were sound checking so I knew that there were far better songs to come!

I couldn’t help but notice about how full the venue was tonight. I hadn’t seen the marquee this full for a long time. I think it really said something about the quality of the bands that were to take to the stage tonight!
I was impressed by the fact that the band had successfully managed to start a decent sized mosh pit two songs into their set, well at the back where I was stood there were a few people running about, it all counts though! It was amazing. The crowd were certainly getting into them.

SSSN are one of those model bands that genuinely appreciate their fans, the audience are thanked for turning up at every gig, which I think is pretty sweet because it shows that their “rock n roll” kind of lifestyle (well I imagine they have one) hasn’t quite gotten to their heads yet!

The third song in the set was one that I knew well (“Gimmie Inner Peace Or I‘ll Mop The Floor With Ya“), my favourite infact, so I’m obviously going to say that it was performed brilliantly and as ever, fans were NOT disappointed!
They had movement, they had energy, there was volume. All the vitals for the making of an amazing performance were there, not forgetting the confidence and certainly not forgetting the fact that Ben was wearing THE SAME shirt he was wearing when I saw them at C85 back in October.- though I would imagine that it had been washed since then. Anyway, this is a review not a hygiene inspection!

You could tell that each band member was giving it their all and were definitely putting their hearts and souls into the performance. Eyes closed, focused, the usual give aways that tell you they were enjoying it at the same time.
The bands set finished up with an old favourite with a spectacularly loud middle eight! A great choice of song to end the set with (can’t remember what it’s called though- so don’t hold me to it!) in my opinion because it was one of those songs that hypes you up and brings you right back down to earth again.
So overall, SSSN- an AMAZING local band to say the least. The few latecomers that appeared at the end of the set really don’t know what they missed. The band certainly have much more to give and I believe that they will definitely go far, keep at it boys! The only one thing that I can say really is play a longer set next time! 5 songs just so wasn’t enough. I needed more!

Next was the turn of They Sink Ships, a group of lads from Welwyn Garden City that I coincidently knew quite well. So I apologise in advanced that I may have a slight bias toward them! I’m going to be honest though- so it’s all good. The band warmed themselves up with a short piece of music and jumped about a bit before they began. I could see improvements in their professionalism already! I had followed the band since they started out and had never seen anything but improvement, so it was really nice to see how they were still growing as a band.

The first song in their set blew all expectations I had of them. They sounded so much better, they looked so much better, they were so much better. Phenomenal. It had only been a few months but who would have thought that they could have come so far in such little time. I couldn’t help but have a bit of a sing and a dance in the bands honour!
One thing I will advise though, is that you just go and see them live. Forget all that listening to them before you go kind of thing, the stuff on their MySpace really doesn’t do them any justice. TSS are remarkable and a completely unparalleled new band whose members display some of the finest young talent that Welwyn Garden City has to offer.
All instruments sounded crisp, clear and in tune. The performance bolstered up and bettered with every song. Tom Dani, the lead singer even made an attempt to start a mosh pit of his own by jumping into the audience and running around a bit during the second song of their set. Bless. It was clear that they were only just getting into it!
The bands new song (again, not sure on the title, but it’ll be on their MySpace profile soon if it’s not available already) was especially striking. The melody was catchy and the chorus was clear cut. I loved it. I hadn’t heard this song before so it came as a bit of a surprise to me, but nonetheless, the crowd liked it.

Their movement and presence on stage was constant. I don’t think that there was one member of the band that stood still for more than a minute and a half (maybe they couldn’t physically do it because of how excited they were- I don’t know.).

They Sink Ships finished their set with the song “Kiss and Tell”. This was the first song I ever heard from the boys I think, and is still in the top twenty-five most played on my iTunes play list! The song really seemed to get the crowd (and the band) going. It was a lively addition to the set that just made the night ten times better than it was! Tom tried and failed to start his own mini-mosh pit AGAIN at the end of the set, it was quite funny really. Either way, They Sink Ships are sure to go far if they keep performing like they did tonight. I’d like to think that they have their own unique appeal that record labels would certainly snap up in a couple of years time. so who knows what the future holds for them. I wish them all the best and cannot wait for the next few recordings that they’re planning on doing in the new year. Keep up the good music!

I’d never seen Members of Me play before, but I had definitely heard of them and had faith that they would deliver. I had heard that the band had quite a following but it seemed that They Sink Ships had brought a majority (a good three quarters) of the audience with them. Nevertheless, the band sounded good. The vocals were slightly off in some songs but once they were a few songs into their set. The bands harmonies were good and they seemed to remind me of You Me At Six and Kids in Glass Houses.

It was announced that the set they were playing tonight was brand new, so I guess that any fans that they did bring along were appreciative of the change, not that I’m suggesting that they would be bored of them because I really liked them!

The band seemed to have far more energy than the audience did but the crowd took to them well and seemed to really enjoy the stuff they were playing. I saw people bouncing, jumping, swaying and heard plenty of appreciative applause! Even the Merchandise guys were having a good ole dance along!
I must say (hate me for it if you’re a fan) but I did find myself thinking that some of their songs sounded the same in certain parts. This shouldn’t change anybody’s opinion on them though because it doesn’t mean that they’re a bad band, infact they’re far from!

The lead singer encouraged the audience to sing along to a few of their songs. They were the first band of the night to encourage the audiences participation which made their set that bit more memorable! I suppose people might remember them as “that band that made all those people sing at the marquee”.
The band definitely had the right sound and image going on for them which was cool. I’d like to point out that this DOES NOT make them genre typical in the slightest because I really don’t like to stereotype. And Girlies, good news, the guitarist is HOT.

The one thing that I found myself complaining about was how short the sets were and how quickly they seemed to be over. Just as you got into one of the bands and had a bit of a dance to them and just as they got going, they would announce that they were about to play their last song, end the set and then get packed up ready for the next band. It really wasn’t fair on the audience! (well I didn’t think it was at least!)

Half way through the set things seemed to pick up. The sound improved and their song choice improved in turn. I found myself really, really liking them! Not having heard much from the band before the gig I cant really say that they sound better or worse on their MySpace or anything like that because I simply don’t know, though I would imagine that they do! I think that they have the right kind of attitude toward their music and have the right way of going about making it. They also have an amazing impact on the audience once they get into it! A band not to be missed!
The band finished with a cover of “Last Christmas”. I’m not really sure if I can say that as a good thing because it was only the second day of December- but they’re forgiven! It was interesting and undoubtedly entertaining! To be honest everybody should appreciate ANY Christmas song with some heavy guitar and screaming! (Woo!)

Attack Attack.. Hooray! Hooray! is all I had to say by the time they came out onstage! I felt like I had been waiting ages for them to arrive onstage. I hadn’t checked them out wither before I cam out, though I had heard a few of their songs before. I was excited to hear what they would sound like live. I really enjoyed their performance right from the beginning, everything about them was as it should be. The vocals were spot on, they moved, they enjoyed themselves and so did the audience.

The lead singer, Neil, really reminded me (appearance and movement-wise) of Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, but Welsh, which I thought was pretty amusing. The photographer had pointed it out, but I didn’t really notice until he started to move about a bit more. The bassist seemed to be the band member that moved around the most though. And no, he didn’t look like Pete Wentz!

I saw that some of the spectators were doing a rock and roll version of the Macarena during a few of the songs which, I think, scared a few people off because there was NOBODY else dancing around them at all, and also set me off wondering about, A- how drunk they were, and B- what kind of fans Attack! Attack! were seeming to attract! It was nice to see that a good few members of They Sink Ships were jumping about in the crowd too!
As the set developed the crowd around the stage grew and everybody seemed to welcome and warm to them that little bit more!

In every song the band seemed to call my attention to the fact that they sounded a bit like Fall Out Boy and Lostprophets- which is a good thing because they’re both great bands! Oh and I LOVED their accents! The band also encouraged the crowd to chant along to a few of their songs. Some of which sounded similar but not enough to say that they all sounded the same and were boring or unoriginal- it was clear that they certainly were not! Their whole performance oozed originality, thought and effort.

It came across that the band were very keen on making connections with the audience. They took plenty of time between songs to talk and tell stories about the songs and even mentioned a few things about what they thought of Hertford.

“Hertford is like somewhere my Nan would live!”
They even let the crowd take the Mickey out of their accents which I thought was a bit risky because they could have so easily have been ripped to pieces if somebody said the wrong thing!

Everything about Attack Attack! Just worked so well. Not only were they an amazing band, they actually had amazing personalities! Every instrument complimented they lyrics, style and tone of the songs. All their songs leaked technicality but by the end of the set I knew that I hadn’t heard the best of them.

The sheep shagging jokes kept coming (from the band as well as the audience) and they then announced that they were going to slow things down by playing “a right smooch motherfucker”. I was loving this band SO much, I knew I’d found this months obsession!

They dedicated a song to Tim Spatz of They Sink Ships too which was beyond doubt, my favourite song of the night, I think it was “Honesty” because it’s my favourite song off of their self titled album too! The guitars were there, the vocals were strong- I loved it.

Attack! Attack! certainly got a reaction from the audience, people were running, jumping, dancing, chanting, screaming and even leapfrogging each other (yes boys, I saw you!). It was pretty clear that everybody was having a good time! And I’m saying all this despite the fact that the dance floor wasn’t as full as it had been during the support acts! They Sink Ships had brought the biggest gathering by far and I’m quite pleased to be one of their oldest fans!
Attack! Attack’s closing song was the highlight of the night because the band put 110% of their energy into it! This was shown in the delivery of the chorus, the instrumental break in particular and not forgetting those pain-in-the-bum long notes too!

In conclusion I would say that Attack Attack! were a band that looked like they were all members of Funeral for a Friend but sounded like Lostprophets/Fall Out Boy.. With Patrick Stump as the lead singer. That’s one CRAZY mix, but that’s just what I think about them. A great bad, definitely worth having a listen to! Their album Attack Attack! is available to buy and are currently touring the UK. So go see them quick!


Words By Carleanne Gwen O'Donoghue
Photos By Emma Bowdidge