There is a Slideshow of the Official Download photos from the lads set
Enjoy!
There is a Slideshow of the Official Download photos from the lads set
Enjoy!
17th November 2008
The only thing I knew about Stone Gods was the legacy of ‘that band’. After watching their scintillating performance tonight, I refuse to mention what they’ve left behind. Stone Gods are their own band, and its no exaggeration when I say they’ve just delivered the best set I’ve seen in 2008.
The connection between the crowd and Stone Gods was something I havent seen at the Academy for a very long time and it’s very rare that I’ll stay and watch a whole show from a band if I don’t know any of their material. Tonight though, there was an energy and raw bloody aggressiveness that kept my eyes peeled to the stage until the end.
The thing is, Newcastle is a special musical area – if a band give their all, the crowd give it back ten times over. Imagine the scene then when Richie Edwards anhilliated the stage – climbing speaker cabs? check. Stage diving? check. Playing in the middle of a mosh pit???? check. This band is going places, and soon.
So in summary – if you havent guessed – this was a great gig to shoot. 24-70 and 10-22 were used throughout as the band was pushed too close to the front of the stage for me to warrant the 70-200.
(There are some great photos but they are copyrighted to the site, please have a look.)
Click on link to see photo’s of the gig!
The extreme density of the crowd is no-doubt helped by a quarter of the audience being made up of friends and family of the band (guitarist Dan Hawkins’ mum alone has ‘plus sixteen’ on the guest list!), but the performance delivered more than warrants it.
On the whole, Stone Gods are a much ‘heavier’ proposition than their previous incarnation, delivering a 12 song set that hints at every rock sub-genre they can possibly think of, from classic metal, a bit of punkier stuff, and even what one gig-goer dubbed ‘theme tune from a crappy American teen drama’.
They may technically be a new band, but the stage-presence and musicianship of these guys is outstanding, with front man Richie Edwards clearly being born for the role.
Enjoy the pictures, and don’t forget to check out our exclusive interview with the band in Issue Ten of Disposable Media, due out any day now!