Proceed on tour
The lads from Proceed put on one heck of a performance at the Islington Bar Academy and it really made me want to sit back, take note and ask ‘who are these guys?’
Performance wise, the band are very active. As they approached the stage, the image set in my mind was a group of lads all looking quite happy and all having big smiles on their faces; you may expect this to then be represented through their music. As they bean to play, this image was a little more difficult to imagine as after a few minutes in, a few changes in pitch and sound, the running music that had been quite pleasant on the ears, guitars and keys growing together well, was disrupted by screamist/keyboardist Adam leaping from the stage, microphone in hand, yelling from one side of the stage to the other while screeching at his fellow band mates from the floor. These lads don’t look as though they have the inner power to pull off something with such rage, but they perform these hardcore rock tunes remarkably well. The method in which the vocals swap between guitarist Daniel and bassist Tom, two very subtle and more indie sounding vocalists and Adam, a more hardcore vocalist, creates a criss-cross of vocals, smooth vs. rough, hard vs. softer tones and it is remarkable to see live and done with such elegance and talent.
While processing his own inner anger to set such a performance in action, Adam was always on the move. There was stamping of his feet and screaming of passion as he belted out the tunes, which was lively in comparison to the other guys very little exploration of the stage. He really got the crowd involved with the music, not just by screaming at them from a foot away, but encouraging, well demanding they move closer to the stage and clap along where ever possible.
Such a vigorous performance was a great way to open an evening of great music. Still to this point I have no idea about track names or what they were about, but the lads gave it their all and did it remarkably well. So much so I invested a fiver in their debut seven track mini album ’Seven Months And A Fire Blanket, which you can find a review of here.