The snow has melted and it is still freezing, but that won’t stop gig goers as they wait outside for doors to open. Something I think we’ve all been conditioned to accept as part of the British concert experience. Tonight, I make my way to witness the growingly popular band, As Everything Unfolds, in Nottingham.
The crowd was immediately receptive to our opener, Darlah. The band came on with a great energy that almost could’ve made you think they were the headliner. The members that could move around were confidently making use of their spaces, with the vocalist mainly making her way around with a strong aura and using hand movements to match the vibe of the songs.
At times, the vocalist sounded a bit flat but this could’ve been solved with a tighter mix by the sound engineer. The place the vocal sat in the mix was so high above the other instruments, that it stood out too much and didn’t blend greatly. I don’t really see this as a hit against the band though, as once the band play more stages, get better gear and find their crew; then it’s an issue that’s already solved. The one thing this band didn’t do though…they didn’t announce their name. At any point. I had to go to the merch stand to make sure I had the right band down.
The interaction the vocalist had with the crowd enabled them to get into the mood. With the vocalist asking them to repeat lyrics after her just before starting the song, meaning the crowd could sing the chorus. The band made the choice to involve a cover…of none other than “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence (a song some would probably describe as the holy grail of teen angst – no one said that, just me. I’m the one who describes it like that). A clear hit with the crowd as I could see people singing the lyrics to each other and recording on their phones. The last song of this band’s set, “Sequel“, went down a treat and I could see people banging their heads in the pit.
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South Arcade then came on to the roar of the crowd. The mix for this band immediately better than before. The band got straight into their set, with people at the barrier moshing their heads, earning a smile from the vocalist. When writing my review on the balcony, I could see people in the crowd singing the lyrics with all their heart. This earning more recognition by the vocalist who would point and make hand gestures to them. When asked who had heard of the band, it was about a 50/50 split, but it was obvious that the crowd were being receptive.
The crowd interaction for this band was great. Relying mostly upon the vocalist, but upheld by the enthusiasm of the rest of the band. The vocalist would ask the crowd to jump, she would constantly be pointing and staring at the audience below and be hovering just on the edge of the stage. At one point, she had the crowd spelling out “d-a-n-g-e-r” for their song, “Danger“. The band also had their own cover going in the form of “kissed a girl” by Katy Perry, which seemed to be a hit for women in the crowd…not so much the men who I could see just standing in place with no sign of movement.
The stage could have benefitted from better stage design, but that’s mostly on the venue and the lighting engineer (if there was one). The lights felt a bit flat for this band, compared to our opener. The lights just seemed to stay stagnant for the most part of the stage til the end of a song, just deep reds and blues. Luckily the energy the band brought masked that a bit but, it would’ve had more people jumping if the environment was matching the stage presence.
Looking around the crowd during intermission, I have a gander at what other music fans of As Everything Unfolds listen to. We got some Bad Omens, Bring Me the Horizon, Spiritbox and even Electric Callboy. We got all the big modern metal here so, I honestly couldn’t think of a more promising crowd to show the trajectory for this band. Showing there’s interest in the market for them (this is too much business talk, it’s just interesting to me – there are no people more supportive of a band than newer metal fans currently having a new obsession).
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On comes As Everything Unfolds, one member at a time. The crowd woo-ing with each new person on stage. The band got straight into their set, promoting their new album Ultraviolet. The energy of the room was fired up and even crowd surfing was attempted before the legs disappeared into the crowd before reaching the barrier. Some fans were definitely going for it during the gig, banging their heads and forming little circle pits with their friends. Overall, the majority of the crowd seemed content to just do a little head bob on the spot with a drink in hand.
Vocalist Charlie Rolfe held most of the crowd interaction, giving thanks to the crowd and introducing every song before they played – even shouting out that they’ll be playing Wembley in March with Skindred, no small thanks to the fans putting them on the map. The band seeming very humble about their growth and recent interest. Between interacting with the crowd and speaking with thanks, Charlie would lay stable vocals with some praiseworthy harsh vocals to match. When I first heard the harsh vocals, I had to do a quick look around to see if that was coming from a backing vocal or if the main vocalist was really just easily switching between soft to harsh and though some seems to be a stem track. Well, the singer moves seamlessly between both techniques when it is live.
The keyboardist, Jon Cassidy, held my attention for a lot of the gig, his enthusiasm was something unlike the rest on stage. The man would be jumping up and down using the keyboard as a support and whole heartedly singing the lyrics as he stared to the ceiling. I wish I could comment on the drummer’s energy and expressions as they’re one of my favourite members of a band to watch, but the haze was so much that whoever it was (probably Jamie Gowers), was shrouded in smoke for almost the entire set… the drums sounded good though, so I’m assuming they were putting in their all. The guitarists, Adam and George, were constantly moving in their spaces and spinning and Charlie herself was only second in energy to Jon.
As Everything Unfolds is currently touring their new album until mid February. The British Rock scene is craving some modern metal and these guys aren’t ones to miss from that surge in interest. As mentioned, the band will also be supporting Skindred in March at Wembley where you can catch them if you missed them this time round.
Photos by Jayne Slater
