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| Ronnie White, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus lead |
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus made the Lock 42 crowd ‘Stand up’ and take notice on 17th March, during their shared UK headline tour with Yashin.
The first support of the evening were the pop-punk Leicester based band We’re Not Worthy. The issue of technology adjustments often arises with support bands, usually the first; the vocals tend to be drowned out by the overly loud instrumentals. We’re Not Worthy’s starting performance suffered as a result of this, although their talent and enthusiasm was immediately apparent. As the band’s set progressed they were able to play their great easycore tracks with confidence and passion. We’re Not Worthy are not signed to a record label as of yet, however judging by their performance on their home turf they will go far with their musical careers.
Next to take to the stage were LYU. The alternative rock band from Birmingham were not phased by the small size of the venue, their exhilaration was as massive as their raw instrumentals which were accompanied by the talented vocal performance of LYU frontman, Tom Hill. The fresh lively tracks performed by LYU warmed the Lock 42, occasionally inspiring spurts of dancing within the audience despite the band being fairly unknown. The band were truly able to prepare the crowd for the frenzy that would occur when the next band and the first of the two headliners, Yashin, took to the stage.
Yashin, the screamo alternative rock band from Glasgow were undoubtedly the heaviest band of the evening and the most energetic. Pumped up on adrenaline the six-piece band found it hard to be contained by the tiny Lock 42 stage, both vocalists often standing on the speakers dominating over the Leicester crowd. The heavy screamo vocals performed by Kevin Miles were complemented by softer pop punk vocals from Harry Radford, giving the band a fresh lively sound. The strong instrumentals inspired the braver audience members to create a mosh pit which dominated most of the venue’s floor, some truly mental rockers sporting bloody noses when leaving the pit. Although Yahsin were generally heavier than the other bands on the line-up the crowd took to their sound with great exhilaration, hyped up and ready for the final offering of the night.
The American rock band, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were highly anticipated by the crowd, most of the audience being at the gig predominantly for the Florida rockers. It had been a while since the band toured in the UK, however their absence only made the fans more loyal and eager to hear them blast out some amazing tracks. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were mellower compared to the band that played before, motivating the crowd members to dance and jump rather than thrash and mosh. Lead vocalist, Ronnie Winter, took a casual stance whilst singing, simply enjoying performing at the gig on St Patrick’s Day. The music played by the other band members was incredible, but did not over power the vocals. Whether it was the small venue or their general attitude, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus seemed to lack the energy Yashin had displayed earlier that evening. Despite this their performance did not fail to impress the fans who sang along to every lyric, eyes glazed with adoration of the band they had missed. The most popular track of the evening was the ballad ‘Your Guardian Angel’, the majority of the audience united to harmoniously sing the song with Ronnie, one girl sitting on someone’s shoulders, in a festival style manner, to get a better look during the track. The band finished their set with the track ‘The Grim Goodbye’.
On the whole the music itself was outstanding, the instruments were played with technical accuracy and talent, however the gig suffered slightly by the lack of energy portrayed by some of the bands. The crowd did not let this stop them from appreciating The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’s, Yashin’s, and the supports’ performances, leaving them wanting more.
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| Yashin Vocalists |
