Do They Collide - Barfly, London (08/09/2012)

Whilst spending a weekend down in London staying with my eldest cousin, there was always scope for me to take as much advantage as I could of the thriving music scene the capital has to offer. This I achieved through being offered a choice of gigs by said cousin, and my reply being something along the lines of "I'd love to visit the Barfly; I'm also up for seeing some new bands in a smaller venue" (which I seldom get the chance to do since all my favourite acts are pretty much stadium fillers). And this is where Do They Collide come in.

Arriving later than expected due to a delicious chilli that needed time to settle, we arrived at the Barfly having missed the first few support acts, having only a chance to catch the penultimate act and the headliners themselves. As sad a panda I was, the show must go on, so I begin by mulling over the looks of each member of the final support act Mackley Drive...

Why was my brain full of billions and billions of fuck? Me and my cousin both agreed that each of the five members looked as if they were from completely different bands to each other. Each looking as if they belonged to a different clique, they turned the instruments up and broke into opener 'Never', and from thereon I was engulfed in the music rather than the image, although that opinion still stands. The charisma of frontman/guitarist Joshua shone through in each song he delivered, clearly laying out his intentions to be a star. Rather than many young bands I've seen in the past who are fronted by someone rather introverted and shy onstage, this man looks like he is in his element, headbanging and moving around in what little space he is given on the stage. Each member of the band are talented in their own field, and with soaring numbers like 'The Bermuda Triangle' and closer 'Only a Matter of Time', their potential to grow and expand their songwriting calibre is incredibly encouraging. I looked at the band before they played and said to my cousin "I reckon they'll sound like The Smashing Pumpkins"... I was wrong. They sounded like The Smashing Pumpkins and so much more - alternative rock at it's finest; I hope they keep it up.

Do They Collide certainly had a tough act to follow. Another fairly young band who instead of resorting to jeans and a t-shirt turned up in wedding gear and with ornaments for stage props, including lamps and some pictures. Maybe they feel at home onstage (bum-bum-tssh). An instrumental introduction that turns from melodic to heavy echoes the epic sounds of yesteryear, optimising my anticipation levels for the set. The band keep it up, and there were songs that indeed fitted with their very pristine and clean image such as ballad 'Bedtime Stories', and with the lyrics "wishing you were next to me" you can imagine that frontman/acoustic guitarist Lew, like many of us, has possibly conjured up those lyrics from the heart. Not at all completely stuck on piano ballads, I mean they're not exactly The Script, they use the keyboards and loud guitars to great effect by creating an epic atmosphere to go with the melodic vocals, but then it all gets stripped back again on an acoustic rendition of 'Over The Inwards' delivered solely and impressively by Lew. The rest of the band take stage once more and one other song that caught my ears was 'Interesting Patterns on Walls', a solemn yet loud tune that echoed at times 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead - to me that is only a good thing. It's high volume to acoustic dynamics were very appealing to me and it shames me that bands writing songs of such quality are playing them in a venue as small as the Barfly when one wonders what they would sound like backed up by an orchestra or string quartet in the O2 Arena. The band leave to much applause and the night continues downstairs with a few beverages and some 80's pop. Thank you Camden for delivering me a fine Saturday night of live music.

Mackley Drive: https://www.facebook.com/mackleydrive
Do They Collide: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Do-They-Collide/142833245765612