The Amazons (+Toreador +Cupids) Live Review 2.3.17

The Amazons (+Toreador +Cupids) // Live Review
2.3.17

After being named BBC’s “Sound of 2017” and being stuck on MTV’s “Brand New 2017” list, it’s no wonder Reading four-piece, The Amazons sold out the Joiners on a Thursday evening with people expecting something brilliant. However, if they were like me, they would have been really disappointed.
Support band, Toreador are a three-piece alternative rock band from Southampton and surprisingly, were the only band worth watching. With their overall performance echoing that signature Royal Blood sound and a slightly softer Queens of the Stone Age shift coming in throughout a couple of tracks, Toreador really put on a show. The impeccable drumming from Rob Purkiss was captivating from the get-go and was never lost amongst the guitar-anthem style riffs that this band have mastered. The single ‘Hollow’ is a track that sums Toreador up in four minutes: an air guitar anthem, designed to suck the listener into the magic of the hypnotic drumming whilst guiding you into their world of rock.

Cupids were the next support band and are a four-piece from Manchester. Despite the set starting off almost- dare I say it- boring, Cupids showed some examples of talent by switching their instruments after each song. Coming from Manchester, home of The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Smiths, the bar is set high for any other bands breaking out from that area. Despite a slow start, Cupids’ set picked up towards the end. Single, ‘Good Things (Come to Those Who Wait)’ was the most listenable track of the night and put an alternative twist on their sound that seemed to be boring the audience to sleep. For a band with the potential to have been animated, glorious and something special, Cupids were just missing something. Until they have found that missing feature, they are just a Blossoms carbon copy.

The Amazons were next and capture the rock style of Foo Fighters whilst combining some Tame Impala psychedelic hints. However, they were unable to reach any level of talent that those two bands have maintained. The crowd however, went mental for this Reading four-piece, with an eruption of teenagers slamming into each other breaking out almost immediately to the remastered Foo Fighters sound that had no real direction of its own. It was as if the audience were watching a whole different set. With no real rock attitude coming across, shoes polished and their playing being so tight it almost seemed over-rehearsed; The Amazons really embody that early school-band style. Their brand-new leather jackets combined with their perfectly combed hair stole the attention of all the young girls in the audience however, The Amazons need to put more time into their talent as opposed to their over worked image. ‘Black Magic’ still sent the place into a frenzy after the fast-paced opening songs ‘Stay With Me’ and ‘Ultraviolet’, despite the song lacking in direction and being too full of noise as opposed to good lyrical structure. With The Amazons at times sounding too much like a Sundra Karma copy combined with some guitar solos randomly placed in, they really didn’t live up to the name they created for themselves a few months ago. Their live show was disappointing which was surprising, as their debut album isn’t as awful as they show they put on. But for a band that claim to be rock, “try-hard boyband” sprung more to mind.
Photography: Dan Harris

Comments

  1. This is the most amateur music blog I have ever had the misfortune to read. Not being funny, but if you're a Blossom's fan (which clearly you are) that just tells me you have no concept whatsoever of what real live music is, as half their live set is based on and around backing tracks and, whilst they might be nice lads, they are so incredibly boring to watch. Unfortunately this makes the entirety of your 'review' totally unreliable and misinformed.

    It really pisses me off when 'music journalists' write absolute shit like this, having never themselves written a tune, picked up an instrument and performed on stage in front of a crowd. Until you have spent years of your life having done all of that and been on that side of it, or at least being closely involved with people that have, in my eyes you have no right to be 'professionally reviewing' other people's music- whether praising them or otherwise.

    Music is such a subjective thing and presenting your opinions as fact is damaging to the whole music industry, especially when those opinions are stemmed from the opinions of other bull-shit journalists writing for NME- which in itself is a pitiful collection of journalists who have 'No Musical Education' feeding people utter garbage about bands they hardly know anything about.

    Sorry but I'd stick to what you know if I were you, and it's clearly not music.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is the dumbest comment I have ever had the misfortune to read. You do not, and I repeat do NOT need to be a musician to be a music journalist. Similar to how you don't need to be a chef to have an opinion on a cake someone else has made. Clearly, you have no idea what you're talking about yourself if you think stating an opinion on a band, no matter how negative is a 'damaging' thing to the music industry. Journalists are a big aspect in it, and if we just went licking musicians arses the whole time then that would just make our critque just a bit pointless? The music industry is a competetive place - there's no place for cry babies, sorry.

      Delete
    2. Thankyou for your comment- always nice to know I reach lots of diverse readers.
      As you so rightly said, "music is such a subjective thing" meaning that my opinion is completely valid- if not it's more important as it was ME who was asked to review the night.
      And no, I am not a Blossoms fan, which is why I compared Cupids to them. The set was boring to watch, boring to listen too and I was very disappointed.
      And also, as you are not familiar with my music background, it may come as a surprise that I have in fact been round live music and musicians for a long time so know a good set when I see one- and Cupids did not put on a good show.
      But, combined with the grief I got for this review over twitter, it's refreshing to know that Cupids have a dedicated fan base behind them that are passionate enough to get whingey about this; I'm sure it will help their career in the future, as their live performances purely aren't enough.

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  2. The Journalism industry is no place for cry babies either.
    It's not even about Cupids. Your comments such as Manchester bands The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Smiths setting the bar high (maybe they did.... 10+ years ago), and having high expectations of the Amazons based on what you had read in NME (a publication who change their minds every 5 seconds on whether they like a band or not based on what haircut they have), tell me all I need to know about your credibility, or lack of.
    Sorry Jasmine but you're a blogger at best, and there's a huge difference between blogging and music journalism.

    ReplyDelete

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