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Review: Young Guns w/ Tonight Alive and Polar [Live]

The Borderline, London - Friday 10th February

by Candi H, February 19th, 2012 and has been Read 1230 times.
Last Edited by: Jack Stovin April 19th, 2012.

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HMV's Next Big Thing event boasted to showcase the best new bands. With a tagline of ‘Nine UK venues, three bands a night’ it ran from the 2nd until the 12th February. And indeed it brought people together across the country to witness some fine homegrown talent as well as highlighted a plethora of much-hyped bands and artists from across the seas. When I heard that High Wycombe’s finest; Young Guns, were to be gracing the confined and historical space of London’s Borderline, I was quite simply put; frothing at the mouth. Having previously visited the venue and knowing the scale of its humble space, I understood the rarity of getting literally up-close-and-personal with your musical heroes/heroines; most of which go onto bigger and better things (and venues in most cases). And so the opportunity was snatched like candy from a baby and the date was frantically pencilled in my calendar.

My level of anticipation increased when I discovered that support on the night would be from Australia’s answer to Paramore; Tonight Alive (a personal pick as a One To Watch for 2012) And in stark contrast, bringing the noise would be Guildford’s hardcore-punk prince’s, POLAR. And so there was no doubt in my mind that it would be anything other than a highly memorable evening. When the night in question came around, I entered the already crammed venue just in time to witness openers, POLAR trying to whip the crowd into shape. Their brand of ruthless hardcore was at first a little lost on the wide-eyed folk; many young faces looking a little stunned for such unexpected brutality at just before 8pm. However, they won a decent portion of the sardine-stacked audience over, including myself, track by savage track. Their confidence and “don’t give a shit” punk energy made an infectious mix. Stunning tracks like 'Smile You Son Of A Bitch' and 'Tonight Matthew I Am The Batman' proved that the quintet are in line to match a career like that of Gallows. They made a lasting impression on me and so when their debut album ‘Iron Lungs’ drops in May, I’ll be keen on hearing what else is up their heavily tattooed sleeves.

Next up were the bright and breezy, Tonight Alive. Their pop-punk charm shone through for me on a cover of Mumford & Sons’ hit 'Little Lion Man' (from Punk Goes Pop Vol. 4) last year. So, I was intrigued to hear if one clever rendition was where their appeal ended. Frontwoman Jenna McDougall and her young aussie bandmates bounded onto the stage smiling from ear to ear; two of them proudly sporting POLAR t-shirts.

With the energy in the room changing dramatically from “I’m pissed off!” to “give me a hug!”, their happy-go-lucky charm was admirable. Despite a slightly timid start to a crowd who the majority of didn’t know who they were, they put on a really good show of clean and well executed pop-punk numbers. 'Breaking And Entering' and 'Starlight' had the light-hearted spunk and the more mature whilst 'Listening' showed that they had variety; something that most bands of the genre fail to demonstrate. The bigger response came when the aforementioned cover was played with pizzazz, and even had people “throwing up their devil horns” as Jenna innoncently encouraged us to do throughout.

With great support came great responsibilty on the headliners. Young Guns were set to emerge at the unusually late time of 9.45, and at precisely that time the room was all eyes on the bathroom-sized performance space. I hadn’t braved returning to the bar for fear of not returning to my sought-after spot near the side of the stage, or for fear of making it out alive, quite frankly. With the recent release of Bones (review on its way!), their highly-anticipated follow-up to 2010’s All Our Kings Are Dead, the excitement for hearing the new tracks live was surely felt even up on street level. I hate the word rockstar in general (insinuatung a level of rock-snobbery) but when drummer, Ben strode out onto the unlit stage and started pounding the opening bars to new single and title-track 'Bones', we may as well have been watching U2 opening at Wembley Stadium. Flexing their muscles, all clad in dark, well-fitted attire (ahem), the rest of the group filtered confidently onto the space and got into position as the track’s intro climaxed and the room erupted.

Frontman Gustav Wood, sporting a grunge-inspired look of ripped sweatshirt and skinny-fit jeans (not that I was paying particular attention…) led the band through the album’s title-track with er, gusto! He bound around the tight space like a man possessed, grappling speakers and making deliberate eye-contact with each and every member of the crowd with those piercing blues. One girl in close proximity to me I’m sure almost forgot her own name when the singer singled her out for one intimate moment. And your back in the room! Serious swooning aside, what really mattered here was the music. Young Guns’ hard-hitting, emotionally-soaring rock tunes sound their best when being blasted through a mammoth soundsystem. On CD Young Guns are great, but live on stage, they are utterly astounding. As they stormed through new tracks like the arena-sized 'Dearly Departed' and 'I Was Born, I Have Lived, I Will Surely Die', their energy grew to intoxicating levels.

Despite the freshness of the album, the new material was sung back to the band like well-known nursery rhymes. The stomping 'Towers (On My Way)' would give Bon Jovi a run for money in the swagger stakes. With no set of feet firmly on the ground, the building was literally alive with swaying bodies, a sea of fist punches and moshing heads in unison. The spark of band-audience camaraderie was already present even before the battle call of 'Brother In Arms' and the albums’ lead single 'Learn My Lesson'; both of which provoked soldier-like chanting to a level of devotion I’ve only seen for rock royalty. Keeping the set’s flying pace (a 45-minute time limit), Young Guns briefly but passionately thanked everyone for coming and shared the brilliant news that the new album had entered the Top 10 of the Official Album Chart, before playing a selection of oldies. Previous singles like the heavier 'Sons Of Apathy' and the 'Weight Of The World' went down particularly well.With an unexpected (but welcomed) leap from the stage, I found myself faced with the rear-end of Mr Wood; obviously the gods were challenging my inner-thought of “this night couldn’t get any better”.

After enough blood, sweat and tears had been willingly exerted, the boys once again gleefully thanked the crowd and threw out a cheesy but still genuine thanks to their label for being there for them and staying strong (PIAS were one of many independent labels badly affected by the London riots). The band closed the set with old favourite 'Winter Kiss', giving one last burst of energy and soaking up as much of the explosive atmosphere as they could before the place turned back into a humble bar once more.

My prediction for the evening was accurate; a highly memorable event on all levels. With two very solid support acts, the night begun and ended on a high. For my first time seeing Young Guns live, they certainly exceeded my expectations. To make great music is an achievement on its own, but to be able to expand the experience and make them sound bigger and better in a live environment, is a task that some can’t live up to. These guys have grown in (literally) leaps and bounds, and if they can put as much energy and passion into a venue of that size, then who knows what we’ll be in for when they start playing the arena circuit.