Friday was special in many ways – The Daily Listening turning one year old would’ve been enough reason for a celebration. Leaving the confines of a bedroom on a rainy day to see a one-off Bring Me The Horizon performance turned out to be the a great decision. The band played (and filmed for a DVD release later on the year) a special benefit concert, accompanied by a full orchestra and choir, from which all proceeds go to Teenage Cancer Trust.
Sad truth is that music legends dying will only become more frequent but don’t forget that legends of the future are also being born. These bands may not be there yet however, the event surely was one for history books.
They couldn’t have found a more fitting opening act for the event than PVRIS. Seeing them live was a first, and definitely not the last. No exaggeration to say, Lynn Gunn sounds exactly like on the record, and Brian MacDonald and Alex Babinski literally killed the strings on bass and guitar. They played a short but high energy set of some of their biggest songs off White Noise and made me fall in love with the new track “You and I” off the deluxe edition, which is out now. I don’t know who their tour drummer at the moment is, but the guy must be recruited as permanent member – I could watch him play forever. Better run for your money, Josh Dun!
Anticipation filled the room as the orchestra started with the overture called “At The Earth’s Curve” prior Bring Me The Horizon appearing on stage. No one really knew what to expect, until the band kicked off with “Doom” and went straight into “Happy Song” (one of my favourite moments) – then all hell broke loose. Between the mosh pits and wall-of-death madness, way too familiar things for BMTH gig goers, the atmosphere still felt unlike any other shows you’ve seen from the band before. Even the thought of this once small hard-core group playing a prestigious venue as the Royal Albert Hall seemed odd; then there was the orchestra and choir made up of professionals, close friends, and significant others. Looking down from the balcony it felt like being part of a cult, summoning the music spirits.
The set of mainly Sempiternal and That’s The Spirit tracks was perfect. “Avalanche” made its live debut; they also played “It Never Ends” – a classic haven’t been heard live since 2014 – on this note, it would’ve been interesting to hear more old songs in such unusual setting. You can’t have all the good things at once, can you?
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Another highlight was “Shadow Moses” led up with the interlude of “Best Is Yet To Come” by Aoife Ní Fhearraigh. An otherworldly moment any church choir would envy – until the actual song kicks in. “Antivist” producing the most insane reaction from the crowd, and “Drown” brought the grand finale before the band came back for the encore. This also was a live debut and probably the best way to end the show. You thought only The 1975 can pull off a sax solo? Wait until you hear this. I call “Oh No” the party song of That’s The Spirit yet it turned out to be the most emotional one of the night as the audience chanted the woah-oh’s even after the song finished and Oli Sykes addressing “Don’t make me cry.” The hell we will…if we cry, you cry too.
You might hate and pull down what Bring Me The Horizon are doing these days with their music because “it’s not heavy enough” but we can all agree this was one of the most important nights of their career. Showcasing the beautiful result of what creative freedom, colliding various genres, and the unison of friendship are capable of.
Now, that’s the spirit!
