Saturday 02/04/11 Veto, Morning Parade @ Vega, Copenhagen

In one of the most expensive cities in Europe, Copenhagen is famed for its beer, classical music and techno. We are at a place called Vega, which from the outside doesn't look any different to any other venue, with crumbling surroundings casting grey shadows upon its pale windows and door ways. Inside however, it looks like Stanley Kubrick has had a fight with an interior decorator. The entire place looks like it hasn’t been touched since the 70’s with Kubric-esque signature stripes on the floor and walls.

The venue is packed, and the support hasn't even started.  When Essex boys, Morning Parade roll onto the stage every last Dane who was sitting around springs to attention giving the venue an air of anticipation. As the band kick in to their set, the general consensus is somewhat undecided, but there is more...

‘Under the Stars’ is the band's third song in the set, which actually sounds better in this venue than it does through good quality earphones. This is definitely the band's money shot as the reaction from the crowd is spectacular given the time-line the band were granted to impress. The booming bass kick, arpeggios and guitar soundscapes married together to create cleverly structured songs shows the crowd what these Brits are made of. Even down to the structure of the set Morning Parade have crafted, the art of their live performance is almost military in fashion. Each time they seem to dip they return with more guns and more ammo keeping the audience transfixed throughout. They end the the set with single ‘A+E’, a new offering that seals the deal to a rapidly converted crowd, rows of applause at the end of the song signal a job well done. If they keep this up, there will be no stopping them.

Veto are massive in Europe. The crowd are 3000 people strong, all chanting excitably. There are grown men on the balcony with their tops off screaming ‘We love you Troels!!!!!!!’ (lead singer). Practically unknown in the UK, it's strange to see such enthusiasm for a band you are so unfamiliar with. Veto released their first EP, 'I Will Not Listen', in 2005 and their first full-length album, 'There's A Beat In All Machines', in 2006 and now the band's third studio album, entitled 'Everything Is Amplified', was released February 25, and it seems this is what the crowd are here for. All their songs are in English as well.

The band begin to an atmospheric synth and building drums, the influence of the dark dim lit streets of Berlin is so apparent it almost takes you there. Storming though songs ‘You Say Yes I Say Yes’ and ‘Cannibal’, the band swirl up a big electronic cauldron of industrial beats and fat synths.  Even before you hear the lyrics, the overall sound smacks of alienation and urban decay - a sort of Joy Division with a more sophisticated set up if you will. Euro pop, no... this band are far too complicated for that, as they seem to dip in and out of various genres and styles, all staying within the spectrum of dance, making it hard to put stamp on them. The same topless guy on the balcony is now singing along with every word thrusting his fist aloft, girls are close to tears and the applause at the end of Veto’s set is so deafening its hard to hear the amp's feedback.

Maybe this will transcend to the UK, maybe not, either way Veto are special and a Euro gem waiting to be discovered.