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Set Your Goals, Broadway Calls & Fireworks in London [Live]

@ Islington Academy - December 16th 2009

by Cristina M, December 20th, 2009 and has been Read 1650 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire December 20th, 2009.

The mysterious alchemy of pop-punk gigs. You get in there, have a first look around and feel a good ten years older than you actually are; then get out feeling ten years younger! I’m actually here to see Broadway Calls, whose second album “Good views, bad news” made a good impression when I reviewed it earlier this year. I’ve heard they’re a great live band who earned some serious support slots in their still short career, and I’m curious to see what the fuss is all about. Having said that, I’m quite happy to catch openers Fireworks too.

A young American pop punk band with some extra explosive, Fireworks picked their name well. I’m pleasantly surprised by their following, populating the Academy right from door opening time. It’s their first appearance in the UK, and I have a strong feeling it won’t be the last. From opener ‘Geography’ to catchy hit ‘Detroit,’ they get this young crowd singing and dancing like there’s no tomorrow, and it’s only the beginning!

Broadway Calls take stage with their fresh bouncing happy pop punk, like a less noisy but more colourful kind of fireworks compared to their predecessors. ‘Wake up call’ is the chosen starter, for a menu that picks equally between their two albums to satisfy everyone’s taste and desire. A note for ‘Basement Royalty,’ which I appreciate way more live, the brilliant ‘To The Sheets,’ and for something older and different ‘Save our ship’ from debut “Oregon.” My verdict: does exactly what it says on the tin. I’m surely not disappointed, but also not surprised, as from their album transpires that sort of feel good energy that you know for a fact is going to grow exponentially on stage. So if you like your pop punk, and if you found “Good views, band news” interesting to say the least, you want to experience Broadway Calls live.

Headliners Set Your Goals add to the pop punk mix with a more hardcore variable and the peculiarity of two lead singers, who bounce alternatively not only up and down but back and forth on stage. If Fireworks were red and Broadway Calls pink, Set Your Goals are a shade of red so dark that it almost appears black from an angle, yet intense like the last bit of sunlight at dusk. Again, they spoil us with a mix of old and new, starting with ‘Summer Jam’ and taking us through fired up ‘Gaia bleeds (Make way for man)’ and cheesier ‘This song is definitely not about a girl’ with equal passion and enthusiasm, reaching their peak probably with ‘This will be the death of us.’ The young audience seem to know every word, and while our ears are filled by a pleasant and joyous sing along, our noses are filled by a way less pleasant smell of sweat after almost three hours of jumping about (and that includes the band!), but hey, it’s rock’n’roll and we like it.

A big thanks to the organisers for putting together a line up that managed to be homogeneous without getting boring, three bands on the same wave length but all with a definite personality. The result was a show that was crowded and animated from beginning to end, a healthy night of music and fun that these kids will surely remember. I’m sure security won’t forget it either, with all the lifting in the front rows! A gig that will not change your life, but may well make your night.