Taste of Chaos - Cardiff International Arena - 21.11.2006

November 24, 2006, 11:15 PM

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The Taste of Chaos bandwagon is unlike anything outside of the US as far as touring and live music goes. Of course, the US witnesses the pinnacle of it in the summer months with the Warped Tour descending into countless car parks and wreaking havoc on the place, to leave 24 hours later seemingly without a trace, except the lasting impression left on the spectators.

Consider Taste of Chaos as the winter version of this; certainly by the time this international tour rolls ‘home’ to the States it is apt to refer to it as winter’s alternative to Warped Tour. Sadly, lacking that luxury the UK has to settle for the annual instalment of Taste of Chaos, a unique proposition on these shores. This year’s bill is very strong, Taking Back Sunday on the success of third album ‘Louder Now’ deservingly headlining, Anti-Flag, Alexisonfire, Underoath, Senses Fail and Saosin; along with a host of side stage bands are all suitable accomplices as the “emo” parade hits town.

It’s certainly not for the feint hearted, over 5 hours of music to entice even the most stringent and under indulging appetites, and the fashion-conscious kids to go along with what is nowadays sadly the norm for most ‘alternative’ gigs, though alternative in this respect is clearly the new cool. As much as the kids would have anybody convinced, this is a tour which is about the music, or at least should be; fashion hear say and scene propaganda take their toll on all of the bands and the only truly unifying moment all night is the headliners; everybody can agree that Taking Back Sunday are a top class act, but the rest is a different story…

Sadly, work and traffic dictated my missing Saosin; reports are that they played well and certainly did plenty to satisfy fans both old and new. Senses Fail (4/10) are the first act to come under scrutiny; lost in a wall of bass and vocals, the sound does them absolutely no justice as brilliantly addictive songs such as ‘Calling All Cars’ and ‘Sick or Sane’ are just shadows of what they ought to be and become lost. Crowd reaction is limited, lots has been said about how Senses Fail are coming into their own and becoming a renowned act; on this evidence there is still much work to be done.

Immediately after over-zealous front man Buddy Nielsen exits the stage; the side stage is kicked off by local contest winners Said Mike, who, along with all the other side stage acts are hampered by poor sound but put in a bold performance in what was only the filler separating the main action.

Underoath (6/10) hit the main stage next; following on from Senses Fail’s failure to endear themselves to new listeners; Underoath did very little to expand from their current, devoted fan base. For those who knew, Underoath were touted as the highlight of the evening, sadly the combination of less popular material and playing ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black & White’ and ‘Writing on the Walls’ back-to-back they revealed their hand too quickly and for the majority the enjoyment factor was far too short and far too bland. Possibly will be blamed on the early time; but having been on the Warped Tour almost all summer and been prominent on Taste of Chaos up until now and with a fierce reputation for their intense touring schedule (including writing third album ‘Define The Great Line’ on the road), a band of Underoath’s calibre and experience should be able to overcome such inadequacies.

In stark and welcoming contrast; Canadian post-hardcore act Alexisonfire (10/10) slay the demons that Underoath battled all set, what’s great about this band is they don’t fit any of the scene clichés that seem to dictate so much popular music culture. All bands are aware of it, Underoath blissfully defy through the foundation of their Christian beliefs and Alexisonfire battle through an ironically self-imposed adversity by being the total opposite of a scene band. They have real quality because their standing is firmly founded on years of evolution and development and touring. It’s a real comfort that some of the intricate harmonies from latest album ‘Crisis’ are impeccably recreated on stage.

By now the room is going crazy for it and the forward-most section of the crowd (some 20 feet or so back from the barrier) are in a constant state of movement; pushing and pulling to get closer to the stage, the rest of the room struggle to remain unaffected and there are clear signs of much enjoyment from most the crowd. For all their lack of exposure in the UK up until now, Alexisonfire are taking it on themselves to win over new fans; on tonight’s evidence and band t-shirts around, it’s proving successful.

Continuing on the theme of well-established acts; punks Anti-Flag (7/10) were probably the last band who’d be expected to fill the main support slot on this mighty tour, with staunch anti-Bush beliefs, they strike a chord with many and the onstage camaraderie and banter do their bit to win over fans. It all reeks a little too much of Green Day; but then again Anti-Flag blatantly don’t take themselves as seriously on stage as Green Day appeared to around the time ‘American Idiot’ propelled them into the centre of the politically-charged punk world.

Anti-Flag provide a little light entertainment; but strike a hard hitting message “You’re gonna die for your government” at the same time. Noteworthy must be their effort at creating the largest circle pit in history; over half the floor space of the CIA is certainly no mean feat; and by the numerous bodies clattering against the fencing protecting the sound engineers it was possibly a little too big.

Where Anti-Flag didn’t seem to make as big an impression as Alexisonfire; it was soon clear who everybody had come to see. Thousands of eager eyes face stage wards as a moustached Adam Lazzara takes to the stage with an acoustic guitar for company. What at first seems like spotless improvisation soon becomes ‘Divine Intervention’, the singing along from the crowd clearly audible, though not quite above Lazzara, in perfect fashion adds to the mood.

The unexpected cover of The Killers’ ‘When You Were Young’ shows that Lazzara could easily hold a career in music without his band mates in Taking Back Sunday (8/10) if that should one day all go wrong. Even telling the crowd to be quiet as they are spoiling the mood seems wonderfully composed of Lazzara who; as recently as May teased the crowd about being quiet during ‘Divine Intervention’ in Bristol as it was making him nervous; and tonight’s crowd is certainly a lot larger.

When Adam announces that guitarist Fred Mascherino had to fly home for a family matter; many don’t know whether this is serious or not. As it turns out, this was a truthful statement, and it would be easy to underestimate how easily Taking Back Sunday could have not been here. Fortunately, members of the supporting bands stepped in to save the day; the difference in the sound was only very subtle.

Set lists suffered from the intense schedule of Taste of Chaos; staging so many bands in one night meant many a truncated set. Taking Back Sunday, though least affected, didn’t escape this and the set passed by far too quickly. Songs such as ‘Liar (It Takes One To Know One)’ and ‘Makedamnsure’ are rapidly becoming favourites alongside the older tracks such as ‘A Decade Under The Influence’ and ‘Cute Without The ‘E’’; all are well received.

It’s not been the best show of Taking Back Sunday’s career; but they’ve dealt with this crowd better than the huge crowd at the National Bowl for 2005’s shows with Green Day; their biggest UK shows to date, and possibly never to be eclipsed. They are beginning to feel like the real deal now, an international rock band who in headlining Taste of Chaos 2006 appeared to be lapping it up and taking it all in their stride. Taste of Chaos will be hard pushed to match this bill; but then again in 12 months time there will be another host of popular bands ready to stake their claim for stardom, many fall by the wayside (allowing space for the new set of bands), but the odd one or two step up and show what their really worth.

Taste of Chaos is always about the bands and the music; it’s unlikely any of the bands featured tonight will tour under the banner again, and that’s what makes it unique. Some always make the most of it, some are a bit of a let down; sadly not everybody made the most of the thousands of potential new fans on offer, some didn’t seem to care. But nevertheless, on Wednesday morning the CIA would’ve been preparing for their next major event, as will Taking Back Sunday, almost as if Taste of Chaos never happened, but the thousands in attendance will always have the memories.

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