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Some bands are destined for life on the second or third tier of rock n roll, never to progress upwards to the big leagues. Sometimes, this may be due to the fact they are simply too edgy or alternative. Sometimes it could be they are ahead of their time. And sometimes it is because they aren’t very good. Comeback Kid fall into the last category. They offer nothing fresh, merely stodgy, lumpen hardcore punk with a variety of aimless tunes and shouting. Not horrifically dreadful but a boring way to pass the time indeed.
Alexisonfire are a much more assured and interesting proposition. The Canadian five piece have slowly but surely garnered an impressive reputation and the majority of their hour long set is testament to why they’ve enjoyed such success. With a solid mixture of tracks from all three of their albums, this was an poised performance throughout.
Newer material like ‘Rough Hands’ and ‘This Could Be Anywhere In The World’ managed to successfully combine some harsh metal riffs with , gasp, actual tunes. Topping it all off is George Pettit’s regular howls of anguish and fury, a sound that makes it appear he’s actually in extreme pain. They may have an basic template of noisy, aggressive hardcore but there’s lots of little things thrown in too, moments that help them rise above the average, whether it’s a furious instrumental passage or the way certain tracks build up slowly.
There’s also Dallas Green’s melodic vocals, a effective contrast to Pettit’s roar. It gives Alexisonfire some versatility throughout the set, a way to offset some of the negatives that they suffer from. They’ve also gained some impressive charisma and bravado on stage, each member lurching about with panache. In particular, bassist Chris Steele’s wired, static shock jerks caught the eye, the man looking like he’d been electrocuted with the way he would suddenly snap around. Pettit simply stomps around, leaning over to the crowd on occasion. Could have done without him being clad only in shorts but there you go…
The sheer personality of the band is able to drag some of their material above the average ceiling it sometimes hits. They don’t also manage though, with some tracks simply being an incomprehensible racket. The ABC doesn’t really help. Though not a huge enormous dome there’s something about the building layout that leaves the atmosphere subdued, with only the occasional oldie like '.44 Caliber Love Letter' managing to create any real excitement.
While they may be flawed Alexisonfire are an impressive live band, with both impressive on stage effort and dynamic songs. This fire may not be a raging inferno yet but it’s pretty damn warm.
