Arriving at the 02 Academy 2 at 7.30 that night, something worried me, had I got this wrong? Was I at the right academy? Walking down that road I couldn't hear a sound, no queue of excited fans, and no congregation of smokers frantically making sure they don’t miss the first band, nothing. Inside it’s the same, a couple sitting in the corner, two teenage girls giggling near the bar and a small group in the middle of the floor. This is weird. By the time the first band take to the stage; the place still hadn't filled up, the only people down on the floor being friends of this young, local band, hardly the atmosphere to inspire these young musicians. It's a shame. The next band, support act 'Find The Escape' didn’t fare that much better, with only about twenty people in the place at this point, although this band didn't make it any better for themselves, leaving long silent pauses between their songs; any atmosphere they did manage to scrape together through a song was immediately burst by this pause. Given this, I will be honest and tell you I was not holding high expectations for Enjoy Destroy.
How wrong was I?
Enjoy Destroy were brilliant given the circumstances, really making the most of their time on stage, not caring whether there is anyone there or not, and not losing even a drop of their enthusiasm. Musically, the band are certainly talented, no one more so than the lead guitarist, but the music is a little mainstream. They don’t exactly do anything new. They're good, but nothing special. Debut single 'Screamer' is the opener and immediately sets the benchmark in terms of absolute enthusiasm. The bassist is jumping madly around the stage and the drummer is an absolute powerhouse. The singer and lead guitarist are slightly more reserved, concentrating more on their music than the stage show. Unlike the second band, the pauses between songs are brief, stopping only for a quick swig of water or beer (we later find out that the singer has been ill all week and so has vocal problems.)
Their set is strong, pounding through their songs quickly and without any fuss, despite only about three people in the audience appearing to know who they are and know the songs. Unfortunately, their music is slightly repetitive, following the general pattern of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus, but standing watching, I just could not get over the energy of this band; whereas the first and second were demoralised by the sparse audience, Enjoy Destroy did not care. They also didn’t care about the state of the lead singer’s voice, which although still strong and in tune, was worse for wear due to illness. Towards the end of the set, when attempting a slower, deeper song, the singer had to stop proceedings as he couldn’t reach the low notes; a shame, but like a true performer, he simply said ‘We’ll just move on and do a more screamy song’. God knows how they will fare for the rest of the tour!
Overall, Enjoy Destroy were a good live band, certainly recommendable. Their new single ‘Holiday Lover’ is out now, visit
www.enjoydestroy.com for more information and news.
Gabby Smith
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