I'll start by saying this was easily the best rock show I've been to in a long time, due in no small part to the two ear splitting, bat shit mental support acts Oceansize called on for this, their rescheduled tour of the England and Wales.

Vessels don't muck about with anything so soft as lyrics, they just get down and give you both barrels. These Leeds lads like a build, ratcheting up expectations then dropping into some hella dramatic synth powered hair stand on end hooks. At times progressive and psychedelic but with a baggy edge to keep the tunes in check, it's like listening to a dance tune being made in front of your eyes.
They can brood with bass and link up with a lead guitar and smash with a synth (one of which nearly meets an untimely end due to an ill mannered stand) but occasionally the power does drop and the momentum fades. There may well be some fat to trim yet but all the same, their arrangements are intriguing and unique so it's a small quibble in an otherwise glorious exhibition of the insane.

And So I Watch You From Afar forgo lyrical content for shear Telecaster fury. The push is intense and sincere - they want the crowd to have a great time because that's what they're having. Shapes are thrown but not for show - because that's where the music is taking them and comparisons have to be drawn between And So I Watch You From Afarand that other band of noise-nicks At The Drive In; it's that much.

At times the riffs get so heavy they could soundtrack a Rage Against The Machine biopic but they do quiet well too. And So I Watch You From Afar don't do loud for the sake of it though. The mind set is, this is good so we're gonna play it louder, which by all accounts is the way to go. Sometimes it's so loud that when they do drop off between songs you find yourself staggering forward for lack of sound waves propping you up. It's only then you realise you've been leaning forward the whole time - I'm not even kidding. These Belfastians have a packed Heaven (quick aside: is Heaven the new Astoria? Maybe) by the nuts and no-one's complaining.

Phew. Oceansize have their work cut out for them. So, they only went and got the scissors out. They start us off with a wall of feedback that gives us two minutes to think about what they're going to hit us with. Oceansize cast their net wider than the two support acts in terms of influences and are quite a bit tidier in the execution. The thing is though, you can find yourself wondering if you're listening to a rock band, an indie band or a balls out metal group...sure it's narrow minded to pigeon hole but you've gotta have a frame of reference somewhere.


They slow it down in places and throw in a few keys that don't really sit well alongside everything else that's gone on tonight but all the same, the night ends too soon and they leave the stage to the sound of some wag pleading for them to, 'Don't go! I've still got a full beer.' They pay no mind and are gone, leaving us with ringing ears and a good time where the last three hours used to be.