Photo:
As Douglas walk on stage, you kind of expected them to be just another support band. Well, you’d very, very wrong. The first thing that hit you about this band, are the almost surprisingly melodic vocals of singer Colin, which against the much heavier sound of the band, makes you listen to what they have to say. With only a very small fan base amongst the crowd, they had a lot to prove, not that it showed. Inviting the crowd to “come and dance”, Douglas put on an awesome performance. Shaking hands with the crowd, hugging their loyal fans and entertaining their audience beyond playing the set and even playing it well, they impressed. The highlight of their set had to be 'Trilby'; an awesomely powerful and energetic song and their new single 'B Is The New Way', released this week. With their “see how we fair” attitude and impressive tunes, Douglas left a lasting impression.
Capdown have always been a band with a passion for touring and performing. So much so that they performed a pretty impressive 250 shows in 12 different countries in 1 year supporting a number of bands. And this time they were back, on their own tour, proving that they can stand their own ground. They wasted no time in getting the show off to a start; “Are you ready Liverpool?” Reeling off their unashamedly political and wholly addictive ska punk anthems, Capdown were having the time of their lives and the energy with which the crowd skanked said they were too. But this show was to be played by Jake's rules, he asked the crowd what their idea of punk was and insisted that everyone should look out for each other in the crowd demanding they respect the band and their equipment on stage. Though this didn’t stop the masses of crowd surfers and stage divers. The atmosphere was one of love and punk, with a hint of politics. Their best number had to be 'Cousin Cleotis', chosen by the "sub-crowd" on stage after an equal vote for that and 'Ska Wars' from the enthusiastic fans. The crowd was united with their Blink 182-like chanting of “dog shit”, at the demand of Jake, and later their appreciation for supporting band Douglas during 'Strength In Numbers'. Their new song 'Mr. Music' was a "hate fuelled song" with the unmistakably reggae sound that is Capdown. The set ended with 'Faith No More' and the crowd was thanked for their “friendship”, “warmth” and their “hospitality”, before Capdown returned once more for a two-song encore. The first of which was a well-received cover of Rancid’s 'I Wanna Ride' finally followed by 'Ska Wars', which served to be the finale to a gig that you just didn’t want to end.
Photos by Dave Kent
