Review: Funeral for a Friend @ O2 Academy, Newcastle

This gig was on the Tuesday the 25th of October 2011.

So I’ve seen Funeral for a Friend approximately 12 times now, and the trouble with seeing a band that many times is you get expectations; you’ve seen them at their best so you know what that’s like.

Last night was not FFAF at the their best I’m afraid. Not their fault largely, but still. They opened with Front Row Seats to the End of the World (not my favourite FFAF song) and the sound was… dreadful. Probably not the band’s fault to be honest, but still. It really annoys me when this happens at gigs. Like how can the sound guys not hear what everyone else is hearing?? I usually put it down to them wearing earplugs, but really, take them out for the first few songs until you’re sure it sounds okay, then put them in! /rant. The sound did pick up a little as the gig went on, but honestly… poor show, O2 Academy. Another thing I noticed about the sound was that Matt seemed to be able to sing the older songs better… I don’t know whether that’s just ‘cause he’s been singing them for longer or what, but yeah.

Anyway, onto the setlist. They played absolutely nothing from Memory and Humanity and only one song (Into Oblivion (Reunion)) from Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. Hardly surprising, but I love Memory and Humanity so I would’ve liked to hear more from that. A notable track that was missing from the setlist was She Drove Me to Daytime Television. Some surprises were Recovery and Broken Foundation (I’m not sure why the latter’s a surprise, I just didn’t expect to hear it). The set was very much centred around Welcome Home Armageddon which, while it isn’t all that surprising, I didn’t expect since they already toured on the album.

Now onto the crowd. Bunch. Of. Tits. Seriously. First of all, the place was half empty ‘cause loads of people left after Escape the Fate finished, which I think is utterly disgusting. FFAF deserve better than that. Clearly ETF were a bad match-up for support. I mean I was stood really quite close to the front with a full pint in my hand and I wasn’t getting knocked or anything. It was good, ‘cause it’s been a while since I’ve managed to get that far forward at a gig, but bad ‘cause it goes to show how naff the crowd were. I mean there was a pit, don’t get me wrong, but nothing like the ones I’ve seen at previous FFAF gigs.

On a positive note, I managed to get a plectrum from the guitarist (not Kris, the other one… I forget his name)…

See, it pays to wear your glasses at gigs kids ;)

So yeah, in summary, I actually had a good night despite the shite crowd and poor sound. It just wasn’t the best time I’ve seen Funeral for a Friend by a long shot.