Stick To Your Guns at Hevy 2011
The Front & Etnies tent would prove to be a mini hardcore haven at Hevy Fest with Stick To Your Guns finding themselves sandwiched between La Dispute and Your Demise on Sunday. It sounds like a pretty cosy place to be, but these big boys of heavy hammered out a set so brutal that it reaffirmed their reputation as being one of the hottest acts you can go and see at the moment.
Having seen this lot on a bill with Your Demise and letlive. earlier in the year, I knew this was always going to be one of those shows where you weren't allowed to stand still. As the crowd got denser, the riffs got heavier and things got a bit mental. In a little pocket at the centre of the pit, a hardcore bunch of hardcore kids were going at it... hard. Flailing, punching, kicking- going nuts to a point that was exhausting to watch. Couldn't help but wonder if the limited female population and access to Kleenex during two nights in a tent at Hevy had something to do with the level of furious energy being released by Sunday evening. It's a reception that Stick To Your Guns welcome, with Jesse Barnett having to reign himself in from spending the entire set hurling himself into the action itself.
The insane ferocity of the vocals and the fantastically hefty breakdowns made this set the epitome of what heavy means to alternative music. "The Hope Division" remains to be one of my favourite albums of recent years when I'm in the mood for something to release an inner 'grrr' and it comes thrashing to brilliant life on stage. These are the best things to come out of Orange County since, well, oranges. Oranges come from there, right? Or is it a trick? Well, haul arse to their next date near you and you won't be disappointed.