Bullet For My Valentine were the support act last time around, and to be honest I thought they were very generic and average. For some reason, they’d caught national press attention recently and tonight I could see why. While their music is still fairly derivative, they put on a much better live show. I don’t know whether they’ve improved, or I last saw them on an off night – maybe the larger stage (crowd involvement and my lower expectations all helped too), but from tonight’s show I could see why they recently signed a record deal.

Eighteen Visions would probably be a big enough draw on their own, having augmented their hardcore fanbase with the recent release of major-label Obsession. It’s emo, but with a definite darker, ‘goth’ edge, rather like AFI in that respect. The set, like the album, opens with the title track, which is also the worst song.

Singer James Hart comes over incredibly camp on stage, and also overdoes his favourite trick of jumping backwards off the drums/platform. Thankfully things do improve throughout the set, but despite appeals to the pit, they don’t quite capture the enthusiasm of the opening act. Perhaps that owes something to the set being drawn almost exclusively from the new album, with the exception of ‘Vanity’ (ironically dedicated to beautiful ladies in the audience).

I wasn’t sure how 36 Crazyfists would cope with the larger venue, and how much the intensity of their June show owed to the sardine-like conditions downstairs. I needn’t have feared, however. After opening with the prime cuts from A Snow Capped Romance – ‘At The End Of August’, ‘The Heart And The Shape’ and ‘Bloodwork’ – there’s no danger of this show being a disappointment. Although further from the stage, the crowd are just as into it, and singing every chorus.

Again, the band draw most of their material from their more recent album, but with a good sprinkling of stuff from their debut too, notably ‘Slit Wrist theory’ as encore (although they don’t play ‘Circle The Drain’ live). They even tease us with the intro to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’, but rather than treat us to a cover, segue into one of their own songs. If I had any complaint, it’d only be the set was rather like last time.

Much the same songs (particularly start and end), and again joined by the singer from Bullet For My Valentine for ‘Destroy The Map’. Still, being the same as last time isn’t all bad – one of the few times I’ve enjoyed a band as much second time around, and not had my expectations disappointed. 36 Crazyfists can surely go on to bigger arenas, if they get the breaks, and on tonight’s show Bullet For My Valentine might make it too.
(4/5)

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