Gig Reviews: Amberline at the O2! 11th March 2011

by Gary Smith

With a bit of a late start, due to the drummer crashing his car and heading towards the O2 Arena instead of the O2 Academy (slight difference there, guys... the one you need is Islington!), Amberline came to a fantastic introduction which did not stop.

The Amberline sound is your typical punk rock... Blink 182 / GreenDay style with a heavy Rage Against The Machine style underline throughout the entire set.  They opened with a very melodic bit of guitar work before going quite meaty, and I was very impressed with the sound in this venue as there are not many underground gigs you go to and hear every word crystal clear.

The lead vocals are very suited to the genre, with the added American accent that makes you really feel that you are at that Less Than Jake gig you never went to... you know, the one without the saxophones!

From the outset, there was a great deal of crowd interaction, and an incredible number of people, all of which really enjoying themselves, for an opening act.  To begin one of the songs, the crowd was encouraged to clap along which went backed up by a simple chord, and continued for several minutes before the clapping was stopped, and the next song started.  The crowd was encouraged to come in closer, even though they claim to smell really bad - but apparently very nice people!  They were.

During another song, the crowd was also encouraged to sing out a chorus of "Ba Ba Ba" etc, which had a different melody for each of the 4 lines that if there were simpletons in the crowd who had not heard them before, then they would have trouble keeping up - but this crowd did very well... very sexy stuff!

All of a sudden, the next thing I saw was the bassist's ear being licked out during an instrumental break..!

As we go through the final song, the drummer - soon to be leaving the band unfortunatley - pulled of such an impressive drum roll around the kit that was so intesnse, he literally had to stand up to pull it off! As the false end came into play, one of the guitars pulled in quite alot of feedback, which became noted as the remix and added a further unexpected layer to the evening instead of killing the entire show. At this point, the other guitarist jumped from the stage and on to the floor, further giving the impression that the show was over, before punching straight back in for an explosive finish in perfect unison.

A couple of minutes later, they did their final chord.

I was left feeling that someone should really give these guys the break they so well deserve, as they are a true tribute to the genre, with their added meaty twist.  Hell, maybe when they do get their break, and they have billions of ladies stalking them which is guaranteed to happen, they can throw a few my way for good measure!

There is a new drummer currently in training, so we shall arrange an interview with the band on claiming a new drummer, and leaving a friend behind.   If you haven't heard this band, and are a fan of the genre then you should put your name down for the reviewed EP, 1998, released on the 16th May 2011.

There were other bands playing that night, but I didn't hang around because I didn't want my evening ruined by anything less than what I had already seen - as far as I'm concerned, Amberline at the O2 is all you need to know!

"If you can't beat them, never join them."