Thursday 5th February 2009 @ Thekla, Bristol
With Support From: Kill Cassidy, The New 1920, Lafaro

In a brief break between the snow sits tonight’s Fighting With Wire gig at Thekla. The weather had a small affect on the turn out but that certainly didn’t affect the quality of the performances!

First up were one of Bristol’s best loved live acts, Kill Cassidy, who had their slot moved forward to encompass another band to the bill. With a new line-up and some anthemic and often haunting new songs, Kill Cassidy, start the evening brilliantly. Their set was tight and lead singer Tim’s voice was effortlessly controlled and strong throughout.

Next up were The New 1920, a four piece indie/rock affair from Cardiff. This band brought some impressive energy to the stage with some pretty catchy songs to boot. The lead singer bounded around the stage as if he was going to take out one of the other members at any second! However, it was a little odd when the singer spoke in a Welsh accent considering he seems to sing like an American. The last song of the set saw the singer leap off the stage into the somewhat empty dance floor and dance around Big Jeff like a madman. It was impressive to say the least.

Main support act of the evening were a rock band from northern Ireland known as Lafaro. These guys might be a little scruffy but they’re incredibly charismatic and funny between every song. They interacted with the crowd very well although a couple of the songs were a little forgettable for me. On the whole their brand of hard-rock was very entertaining and great to keep the pace of the night up.

Finally were the main headline of the gig, Fighting With Wire. These guys also hail from Ireland and seem to have a healthy following in Bristol. Comparisons to Nirvana and Jimmy Eat World aside, they have some very strong songs to wow the audience. The band seemed to have a very close rapport with one another, constantly rocking out between themselves and joking between tunes which is a delight to see. Their signature songs such as new single Sugar and All For Nothing were belted out and sang back by the crowd who were having a great time (after spending most of the evening propping up the bar unfortunately).

This was a great night to showcase all this talent and all bands were on top form so it’s a shame that the weather might have stopped a few punters seeing it.

www.fightingwithwire.co.uk

Stu Freeman