LIVE REVIEW: Seaway, WSTR, The Gospel Youth, Fair Weather, Joiners, Southampton, 24/01/2017
A Tuesday night during Independent Venue week sees a sold out pop-punk show in Southampton’s infamous venue The Joiners. The quadruple threat of Fair Weather, The Gospel Youth, WSTR and Seaway make this look set to be a great night, especially with this being the first date of the tour.
We’re big fans of larger bands giving out local support slots on their tours and tonight Fair Weather were graced with the task of opening the show. The Southampton based pop-punk outfit epitomise everything we’d been hoping to see tonight; the typical pop-punk vocal style we love, crowd interaction, plus the chance for a crowd movement and finger pointing to rear its head. December by Neck Deep is one of THOSE songs that never fails to win a crowd over, so Fair Weather made a great move by covering it during their set.
The Gospel Youth have become one of the most talked about up and coming bands since their inception just over two years ago. With the room full to the brim for their set this Brighton outfit have something addictive about their sound, putting their heart and soul into their performance. Despite it being, at points, a little rough around the edges (the first date of the tour and all, we’ll let them off) new single The Miles We Are Apart sees loyal fans within the crowd try their hardest to get others involved. Having recently signed to Fearless/Velocity Records expect to see them playing a lot of live shows near you, alongside the release of their debut album Tired Eyes And Heavy Hearts Always Lose in the later half of the year.
WSTR are a band that we’ve have been hooked on since they first appeared on the scene. Quite simply WSTR are British pop-punk done right, and their Southampton set proved this. The wave of excitement following the recent release of their album Red, Green Or Inbetween is translated into a full blown, high energy set. Fair Weather (the insanely catchy and lyrically excellent track, not the local support) provided a night highlight as the crowd chanted “At the end of the day, my friends are dicks but I would never have it any other way” back in unison. It’s impossible not to have the best time during a WSTR set, as crowd members clamber up on stage throughout and everyone’s stresses and cares are left outside in misty, cold Southampton.
Canadian outfit Seaway, however, are the ones that many fans are here to see, with every last bit of movement space taken up it saw fans stood out near the bar just to get a glimpse of the action. The set includes tracks from the band’s 2015 release Colour Blind in 2015, played to an adoring, revved up crowd. After slots supporting Neck Deep and Knuckle Puck in the UK they were now headlining the venue they supported KP in last year, to their own rightfully gained and deserved following. Ryan Locke has vocals that could blow your mind from even just a second of listening, which makes them stand out in the hustling scene. Too often nowadays we see bands begin to lose love for their job, struggling to put effort into their performance, but Seaway play as if this is the most important show of their lives.
The high-octane set is infectious as the crowd once again reach towards the stage, getting up close to the band they love as a wave of crowd surfers float throughout. There’s a great sense of unity within the venue as Seaway’s relatable lyrics are sung back as gospel, proving that pop-punk both across the pond and in the UK is stronger than ever.
8/10
Written by: Nicola Craig
Photos by: Elliot McRae
