This was the first time I had ever been to Koko in London, and I've gotta say, I was impressed. In the heart of Camden, it's obviously perfect for rock gigs. It's like an old theatre, with a main floor by the stage, and stairs up to several balconies for those who aren't too keen to get involved in the moshing. It's gotta be one of the best gig venues I've ever been to. Most gigs I go to are in dungy little places, which while have their own charecter, aren't quite as gorgeous as Koko, which has a real charm to it.
Unfortunately, we missed the first support, Decade, due to a slight blunder where I err, left the tickets in the hotel and had to rush back to our hotel in bayswater to get the tickets! Oops! Thankfully, we got back in time for second support, Pure Love.
To be honest, I could of left after pure love and still felt like it was worth it. It was the best support act I've ever witnessed in my life. It just epitomised pure rock n roll. They held no punches. They took no shit. They rocked out! Frank Carter has constructed Pure Love and made it work in the most unimaginable way. I just wish I had listened to more of them before the gig. After their first song, Frank demanded the crowd form a large circle. He then jumped off the stage and in to the middle of the circle. He proceeded his set in the middle of the pit. It got better. He then climbed up on to a balcony in Koko. He was going to jump but security stopped him which sucked, but he still rocked out up there! After, he then did something even more epic and slight unimaginble. He got the drum kit to be carried in to the middle of the crowd. The drummer then, quite literally, became the centre of attention. As frank sang on stage the drummer drummed, and the crowd formed a circle pit around the drummer. The long haired guitarist then got in to the crowd and was carried around in a circle around the drummer! It was so sick, it reminded me of why I love live music and love rock music and everything it embody's. And the main act weren't even playing yet.
Frank Carter doing what he does best
After pure love had exited the stage, to say that they 'got the crowd going' would be an understatement. Not content with simply waiting patiently for Don Broco to come on, everyone started moshing and even crowd surfing to the background music playing. The crowd surfing seemed pretty pointless, especially when it was the same guy doing it over and over and over, until the crowd, so annoyed with him, began chanting 'kick him out! Kick him out!' And so they did.
After, Don Broco swiftly took to the stage, opening up with Priorities, followed by my fave song by the band, Whole Truth. The whole crowd went mental for the band, especially Bobby, whose got the voice, the looks, the dance moves, an amazing stage presence, and just the right level of ego. Enough to make girls swoon and guys want to be him, but not enough for him to come across as a massive dick. The entire set was a brilliant mix of songs from the Priorities album, and songs from their EP Big Fat Smile. It was great to hear some older songs I hadn't heard in a while, such as Dreamboy. They also played some of the lesser known songs off of their album such as Back in the Day, which was great. And of course, without a doubt, they played their old fans favourite Thug Workout, a song thats never actually been recorded in a studio, but always gets everyone moshing. Every band has a 'thing', Don Broco's is 'The Push Up Squad', something that appeals to Don Brocos fan base of guys who are lads yet simultaneously rockers. Bobby got the crowd to make room for a massive push up pyramid. It was definitely enjoyable, and hilarious, watching a bunch of blokes clamber on top of each other to then attempt to do a push up in-sync.
Don Broco finished the first part of their set with popular Actors, after coming back on stage for an amazing encore which consisted of Yeah Man (another song I was excited to hear live), Hold On, and Fancy Dress.
The Don Broco Boys
Overall, it was an amazing gig, with a brilliant atmosphere, a perfect venue, and a lively crowd.
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