The photo that broke their 'awkward-band-shot' virginity.
I arrived on the day before they were set to play their afternoon slot only to promptly invite most of the band to a field party in the next town over, which ran long into the night. Personally, a large section of that evening was a dizzying cyclone of narcotics and debauchery. I may also have had accidentally encouraged their bassist to imbibe a cocktail of fun chemicals, but that's another story in itself.
A deeply disturbing and sordid story.
Moving swiftly on, I awoke to find almost everyone gone and my head feeling like a melon that had been chucked out of a lorry which had been travelling at speed; I also had the prospect of an 11 mile bike ride ahead of me. I promised I'd make it to their show, so I headed off, hoping the ride would sober me up and straighten me out a little. It turned out to be of some help, despite a few close calls where I'd straight-up forgotten how to ride or lapsed into daydream-mode. I eventually arrived at my destination in just over an hour as well as a couple of pints of sweat lighter.
The others were still asleep or getting ready upon my arrival, one of which stared out of their window in disbelief and uttered "did you just fucking ride here from where we were last night you crazy bastard?!" to which I issued an exhausted nod. I was granted passage and slumped on the sofa whilst they prepared themselves for the afternoon ahead. Focusing on the television required a huge amount of effort, but this activity was cut short by the bassist appearing and encouraging me to feel his unusually high pulse; it was evident that he was coming down rather heavily.
Didn't stop him playing like a pro, however.
After the singer had finished waxing his massive beard (for maximum effect) we loaded the car up with equipment and made our way on foot, as there was no room for passengers once all the noise-gear took residence. On the way, the band's lead vocalist was addressing his ambivalence toward the impending show, reassuring himself that it will be okay because "it's only a local one". He then took his phone out in order to blast some pre-gig pep-up music, during which time I could sense his focus narrowing as he prepared himself for the stage.
Everyone regrouped once at the festival itself and, after a hasty frisking by the security staff, we were granted passage. Praeter's slot were still three acts away, as such the members began to mingle, talk about merch and undertake whatever rituals they felt helped prepare them for the concert.
Apparently this included mandatory man-hugging.
After some time it was finally their turn to embrace the stage of the Right Track Music tent as Praeter, by far the most aggressive and energetic act to play at the festival that weekend, so much so that the emcee issued a disclaimer proclaiming as such. The sound-check was predictably riddled with problems, as the lads on the mixing desk had been levelling for punk bands and acoustic acts up until that point. It all evened out (to a fashion) and it wasn't long before they were finally ready to play. I took a quick look around the tent to find that 90% of the crowd seemed to have turned up specifically to hear Praeter tear the festival a new one, which must have been a tremendous confidence boost for the lads.
They played an explosive and energetic set, roaring through several of their original songs which included their singles 'This Is Hell!' and the zomb-core(?) hit 'Patient Zero'. They dedicated 'Brutality', a law enforcement-shaming automatic-shotgun barrage of a track, to a sadly-absent friend of the band. Every member contributed vocals at some point during the set, be it gang-shouting or individual segments, all with the aggressive aplomb one would expect.
Dem screamz.
Incidentally, each individual member gave it their all; the guitarist was very animated, running about the stage and tossing his fringe-swept locks until they became a sweaty mess. The bassist, despite him probably feeling like the aftermath of a forest fire kept it tight and adopted a strong stance, even with the sound guys doing a dreadful job of keeping the low-end in the mix. The drummer was precise, energetic, aggressive with his vocals and generally looked as if he was having a whale of a time. The vocalist completely submitted himself to the performance, pacing around the stage to maintain his focus and belting out the metronome-accurate barks and inhuman screams he is known for. His bearded face the picture of rage with each vocal outpouring, which showed just how much effort and focus he poured into the act.
Pictured: how to do a metal correctly.
They closed their set with a superb rendition of 'Troublemaker' by Olly Murs. During this final track, the vocalist launched himself into the crowd whilst still gripping the microphone and roaring into it; a sight to behold if I do say so myself. During all this chaos it had began to rain quite heavily outside, drawing even more people into the tent; I feel that the larger crowd gave Praeter the energy boost to finish strong.
Someone ripped his shirt, HULK MODE ACTIVATED.
In summary, it was an amazing festival debut for the band, but it was a shame the sound team couldn't get their arses into gear when it was needed. Luckily for Praeter, audio issues did very little to detract from the pure energy and precise musicianship these lads are clearly capable of. I scorned myself for letting this be the first time seeing them, as I instantly wished I had gone to their previous shows to watch them grow as performers and musicians. Suffice to say myself and others wish to hear more from these blokes, maybe in the form of an album soon...
These lads are a tough act to follow.
... right guys?
- Sam
Praeter's single 'Patient Zero' is out right now, click on the pic to experience it!
No comments:
Post a Comment