The day of reckoning was upon us, and I was very cold. Regrettably, due to the influx of fans of the bands in question, I was forced to queue outside Quarry to get in. Never has the success of such great bands and such a legendary venue made such a bitter, useless man out of me. Alas, fans had been waiting since half past four. Mad really, but fair enough. You were there first, and I shall wait.
When I got inside it was lovely and warm though. I couldn’t get pissed as I had a big day the next day, which made the evening more comprehensible than usual. I handed in my badge and my gun and my pint of Guinness. It was still awesome though, which is crazy to say I’m an alcoholic and wanted a beer. Really goes to show how good some bands are, when you think about it.
A Lesser Version were the first support, however this time under the guise of a lesser version of a Lesser Version. This was assumed by the crowd to be because the band only had two of it’s five members on stage today, however they were wrong, as it was actually more due to the Russian Doll nature of singer Liam Evans’ body.
It was actually a reference to how he is controlled by lots of smaller Liam Evans’ within his body, each operating different functions, such as how to keep his hair lovely, or how to score a football goal. It’s less Russian Doll and more Inside Out. Or Meet Dave, to be fair. The fact that there were less of them on stage was just weird timing.
They played a really great, stripped back set. I fell to my knees regularly throughout. It was nice to hear lots of songs I now deem to be hits and classics changed up, with a lot of the setlist reworked and changed. The newer songs were kick-ass and thoughtful, the older, less played live songs were a pleasure to hear.
Second support were Theo Vandenhoff. This was hardly anything like the previous band's set. Not uncommon, different bands afterall. It would be quite mad to sound the same. It was a full band, and they all rocked out without their cocks out, thankfully. It was quite epic. Theo is one of the most animated and eclectic vocalists I’ve seen in a long time.
Throughout the set Theo threw himself about the stage performing wild and exciting moves. I could never have done it, I would’ve been really out of breath, so fairplay. It’s a performance with loads of character and the tunes to back it up. Parts reminded me of The Chameleons, who are also pretty epic. All the band members were chuckling and not taking themselves too seriously, whilst the music was performed in complete earnest, which is the best way to perform music. I hope they return from Canada one day!
Crywank were the headline act. I saw Crywank when I was only a small teenage boy supporting AJJ. And now they’re fucking miles more successful! Well done! I was glad to see success has only made them sillier. The set is, for band members, a jolly good time and a bit of a piss up. The lead singer is having a blast and keeps asking us if we like dogs. Songs are played that are moving. Songs are played that are just the drummer making weird noises.
Even with all the mucking about though, their set is unbelievably tight, and their claim that they don't want to play the hits, they want to play their favourites (and then the hits) is admirable. It is a longer set than is usually seen at Quarry but it doesn’t feel like it. I chatted to them afterwards and they told me about a man called Scampers who works in a corner shop and has sex with everyone who goes inside the shop. He sounds like a legend. I will think about this in the coming days.
I genuinely felt hearty and buzzed after the show. It was fun and whimsical and seeing people who have achieved what they wanted not take everything so seriously is humbling. And the music still goes as hard as it always has. Well done everyone! I had a lovely night, and I didn’t even get shitfaced!
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