Yashin

support Glamour Of The Kill + Dear Superstar
author TL date 29/03/12 venue Templet, Lyngby, DEN

It's Thursday, March 29th and as Lykke and I are approaching Templet in Lyngby I get confirmation for something I've suspected ever since reading about Yashin touring the UK in support of Black Veil Brides. The promising Scottish emocore sixtet are (becoming?) a band mainly for young people, as evidenced both by the line of anxious young female queueing for the venue, and by the rather cheesy support bands brought along in form of Glamour Of The Kill and Dear Superstar. Still, while it may make me look all old and out of place among these young ladies I must admit that I like young music fans. After all, they tend to show up early, often in a good mood, they mostly show interest in the support bands and generally they just aren't too cool the way lots of people get when they grow up and start to get a bit square. The same goes for tonight, as I'm guessing some 40-50 people are buzzing about Templet's relatively small venue room by the time the first band appears..

Dear Superstar

I haven't seen perennial support band Dear Superstar since they backed up Papa Roach in 2009 and frankly I'd forgotten everything about them. Not much seems to have changed though, as I see singer Micky Satiar come on looking a bit like a Jacoby Shaddix fan in his leather/eyeliner combination, and his band does in fact play music that sounds remarkably like Papa Roach or Madina Lake. They do so in a relatively relaxed manner, making the clear impression that Satiar is solely responsible for making their show visually engaging. He attacks this responsibility with enthusiasm at least, wasting no opportunity to chat up the audience, strike rock star poses during songs and generally gaze at the audience like he fully expects each of us to be willing to blow him after the show. It's safe to say I think it's a bit too much, especially when the sonic side to the performance - despite a near perfect mix - sounds like an overly cheesy and calculated take on the kind of already dodgy stuff bands like Papa Roach and Madina Lake have made their names on. When it's at its heaviest and you feel the oopmh of the kick drum, it's alright and you can almost get into it, but mostly I think it's safe to say we see some of the reasons that Dear Superstar are still the smallest band at a small show mainly attended by fans that are young and easily impressionable.

Glamour Of The Kill

Now, if you've heard Glamour Of The Kill on record you could fear that you'd be in for more of the same, given that their music, similarly to that of Dear Superstar, sounds like a rather cheesy and predictable attempt at modernising elements from sleazy 80's metal. As I've learned watching these four lads on their recent tour with Alesana however, there's one quite important thing that separates them from the previous band though; When it comes to playing a show Glamour Of The Kill do not kid around. Okay, so despite the changeover there are some issues with the sound during the first song, which cause bassist/lead-singer Davey Richmond to sing somewhat off tune, but as soon as the second number comes around and the monitors are properly adjusted, GotK get their rock train rolling so steadily that nothing can prevent them from reaching their destination. Every member of the band is moving and playing like they're enjoying it, not relenting even when Richmond's demand for a circle pit is met only with awkward silence. They just keep rocking, and tightly so, sounding especially impressive when singing three- and four part harmonies perfectly. There are only really two chinks in their armor. Firstly, their material is simply hindered by excessive predictability and recurring attempts at catering to the modern audiences by glueing in breakdowns where they do little good, and secondly, nobody here knows them, meaning that as well as they play and perform, little to no action is taking place on the floor. And that's a shame, because despite my reservations about their recorded material, I'm starting to think that Glamour Of The Kill are worth seeing every chance I get.

7

Yashin

After another changeover, it's time for the headliners to appear, and while Templet is still far from full capacity, there's a decent crowd of people hugging the stage, greeting the band with excitement when they come on. The Scotsmen immediately go about starting a party, kicking into an active set in front of a banner that's too big for the stage with "Remember Me". Despite this probably being one of the smallest and least important shows Yashin have played lately, all members of the band look like they enjoy playing to us, and especially frontmen Harry Radford and Kevin Miles take their responsibilities as focus points seriously, smiling wide and making sure to encourage everybody to sing along. The people in the crowd comply as best they can, jumping up and down when urged and otherwise dancing and moshing happily as Yashin play through almost all the songs from their 2010 LP "Put Your Hands Where I Can See Them", as well as treating us a few of their new songs, including new single "New Year Or New York". Activity is naturally at its highest during the songs from the album, which the fans have had a chance to hear before, but good vibes still dominate the set and Miles and Radford thank everybody for coming, and go as far as to hint that they will be back in Denmark and the European mainland again as soon as later this year. "Let It Go" is aired, as is "Get Loose!" and "Down, But Homeward Bound" and Radford eventually gets so excites he takes off from the floor, grabs a lighting rig and has a brief headbanging session hanging upside down.

There are only minor complaints to be made about the show really - One being that it feels like it's been rather short when the lads eventually have a short break before a one-song encore consisting of "Stand Up". An old fan like me is hence bummed to see the guys close proceedings so soon, having not played any of their material from the pre-Radford EP "Miles Away But Getting Closer". That and a mix that slightly favours the instruments over Radford's cleans and the fact that the performance really deserves a bigger, more dedicated audience, because Yashin do their part to deliver a good time like seasoned touring vets, and the overall experience would surely be much better if their efforts were complimented by a larger, wilder audience.

Go here to check out more photos from Lykke Nielsen

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