(Cellar Door on stage at their headline show - 22nd November 2019 // photo credit - @rhysboylevisuals)
Sonic Gun Concerts presented Birmingham based alt-emo rock band Cellar Door's headline show last week, on the 22nd November. Obviously, I arrived late because I can't go anywhere on time, but despite that, I was welcomed into a bustling room full of fellow gig goers. Hugs and hello's were exchanged, drinks were bought and then in was time to do my job and focus on some music.
Idle Pilots Society
"With a summery outlook, and a wild sense of adventure, Idle Pilots Society touch down with the ultimate sound for your road trip playlist." - band bio.
Straight away the band exude summer vibes and warm up the room during this cold November weather, not only with the indie inspired music but also with their summery attire. I really enjoyed the harmonies throughout their set, the two vocals complimented each other nicely and created a full and round sound without things sounding too busy. The mix of the acoustic guitar with the sound of the rest of the band works well to create the whole sound original to Idle Pilots Society. I also have to rave about the originality of the lead vocal, his voice is super strong and controlled, it reminded me heavily of Jack White.
While I did get a strong Circa Waves feel throughout the set they played, mainly due to the summer road trip lyricism and instrumental, I could sense a nod toward a little bit of country and also, oddly fitting into this list, Artic Monkeys. The effects featured on the guitar during some songs gave that more distorted tone that Artic Monkeys base their sound on. The only criticism I have for Idle Pilots Society is to maybe work a little on their stage presence as the confidence brought by the lead vocalist almost leaves the rest of the band feeling like his backing musicians, rather than one cohesive band.
Deafs Door
"In world full of avocados, anxiety ridden snowflakes and a burning urge to take offense and push personal agendas on others, one band seeks to address all with a heavy yet melodic injection of riffs and captivating lyricism. With songs written about a mix of life experiences and the mass dissatisfaction of todays' modern world, they strongly raise a middle finger up to society and its outdated structures. Time is running out. 'knock knock' you're on Deafs Door" - band bio
The first thing I assumed when listening to this band is that 'Bring Me the Horizon' must be one of their inspirations. The gritty and raw guitar tones work well with the heavy riffs that dominated their set and they had a good stage presence which injected some interest into their performance. Although the music wasn't bad, it didn't seem to connect too much with a lot of the audience, especially after they spouted their political views and I watched as members of the audience left to go smoke or play pool. Stating 'Fuck Boris, fuck Corbyn' might've been a political statement a while ago, but now it makes you sound a tad shallow whilst everyone one else is over the faces and now worrying about issues that run much deeper - issues you seem to undermine (or at least that's how it came across).
I do get that in this political climate people want to make comments and that it's hard to say anything right about the shit storm that is happening, but on a night like this one, I think things are better left unsaid. On that note I would also politely suggest working a little bit on the wording of their band bio as it reads like they're saying a big 'fuck you' to a society of under-represented and struggling peoples rather than the society of judgemental assholes that I hope they're actually talking about.
I didn't not like their music but personally, I didn't connect with what they played mainly because it didn't really feel particularly personal or unique.
Kick The Clown
(photo credit to - @seven_months_in_79)
These guys are awesome. They have the look of a proper band, not like they're a bunch of random people thrown together yet they still all look individual and full of personality. They all came across so confident and their stage presence was immense. The guitar tone could've been a little better as it felt too clean and needed to be more gritty, in my opinion, to fit in with the whole 70's punk, 'The Clash' kind of vibe. The vocal mixed a more modern post-punk feel which brought the sound into something that is more than just an ode the pioneers of punk.
These guys seemed to be the only support that actually fitted the genre of the headline. The line up of the whole evening was a little odd, lots of genres all pilled together that don't really fit or flow very well aside each other, the night was just a bit confusing and jarring. When coming to see a relatively emo headline band I didn't expect 'indie' music but I was glad that there was at least this band that worked well.
Afterglow
You could tell that Afterglow are going for a 90's inspired grunge like sound, but for me it was overshadowed by the questionable choice of tones across the instruments. The guitar tones ruined the dissonant harmonies and left it sounding messy which was a shame as it was obvious that each individual is very talented on their respective instruments, it just couldn't come together as one cohesive sound. I don't want to be incredibly negative but I just didn't see anything that new or exciting about them, the indie 4 piece band has had it's time and now it's over used and tired if bands don't try to evolve a little more.
Cellar Door
(Cellar Door // photo credit - @rhysboylevisuals)
Cellar Door owned the stage the minute they walked onto it. The vocals were raw and cut through the instrumental, he sounded so passionate and full of emotion, all super emo. The instruments all work perfectly together, nice, strong tones that create this harsh and in your face sound. There's a great mix of sad sounds and deep, full, angsty bass lines - I love.The second song 'Headache' was a stand out from Cellar Door, its super catchy lyrics and melody have been in my head all weekend and I'm not mad about it. Everyone was having so much fun and jumping and dancing along to the emo-inspired lyrics. I also loved the cover of '102' which I was surprised by as I'm not the biggest fan of The 1975, but this heavier version of the song has way more feeling and fits their brand SO well. I think it's really cool that they've chosen to add in a cover that isn't necessarily a popular song, it definitely paid off for Cellar Door.
I really enjoyed the bouts of energy that each member of the band was giving off, they were all having so much fun and the audience were loving it. This was a huge factor through the whole set, the passion Cellar Door have for music is so infectious leaving it impossible not to dance, sing and cheer along. Each band member was so enthralled in the music, everything was very strong, clear and well rehearsed. Very impressive.
I will say that there is a small element of 'indie' within the instrumental that I think could be dropped, not because it makes anything bad, but just so Cellar Door can reach their full sad boy potential which to me is much more fitting for them. Emo is having a come back moment, jump on that.
Towards the end of their set people were up on each others shoulders and everyone was smiling like crazy, just having a great time. Overall, Cellar Door pulled off a great headline show and made a lasting impression on everyone who attended. Check them out on Spotify and definitely get down to their shows if you can.
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