Posts Tagged ‘Winter Severity Index live at Hope&Anchor 2016’

I have lived in London for almost a decade and I had never been to the basement of the Hope&Anchor for a gig. On the other hand, the frantic rate with which post punk/cold wave bands are being formed lately, means that only a handful get any attention and even less manage to create a distinct sound.

Personally, I have always found that cold wave music is a genre that is difficult to engage the audience in the same way other styles do. This is because it relies on the creation of a very specific, almost hypnotic atmosphere that references a certain set of feelings. For this reason, melody is ofter scarce and the vocals reflect a sort of aloofness which can be easily mistaken for passivity, blaseness or sheer indifference. For all these reasons, bands that choose this style need to be able to highlight the shades of grey that coldness encompasses and make them attractive enough so that their audiences are immersed in them and enveloped by them.

A most unusual sound check and its transition to the actual show

BNC_1Winter Severity Index and Cold In Berlin are two new bands that I wanted to see perform live for quite some time. Taking into account that the post punk genre has a dedicated audience in London, this gig presented a unique opportunity to enjoy cold wave music and the gig was well attended overall. The ticket price for this event was very reasonable and the venue proved to be really accommodating in all aspects of this gig. Stage times had not been announced but the audience didn’t quite expect a 90’ delay after doors had opened. Everybody was in a good mood and the atmosphere was nice so this delay didn’t seem to cause problems. Most of us walked into what seemed to be a heated argument between Winter Severity Index (who were on stage for their sound check) and the sound engineer. Being in the presence of their audience, I think that the band could have been in a better mood and the sound engineer not so verbal towards them.

(more…)

Spread the word by sharing this