Throwdown's last show of their December mini tour in the UK
Tuesday nights aren't by far the greatest time of a week to have a show and the chilly December air would be enough to deter anyone into substituting there night out for a night of watching TV in bed and drinking warm caffeine beverages. But tonight was an exception; fans from all over the South had come to the Camden Barfly to watch the d-beat machines that are Throwdown.
Being that it was the first time I had ever even been to the Barfly, I somewhat impressed yet dissatisfied with the venue and it's staff. For every good point, there was certainly a bad point. The Barfly in general had a great sound, everything was mixed so no fan could miss a thing; whether it was a axe-crunching solo or a sneaky triplet on the bass drum. The intimate atmosphere between the stage and the bar at the back of the room was more dynamic than any other venue I've encountered in London. My dissatisfaction was held within the way doors were supposed to have been open by 7:30 and weren't open until 8:15, which left fans almost dying on the doorstep. Even when fans were let in, they were treated to a mediocre band and forced into procrastination for another 30 minutes between sets for Throwdown to come on. Madness! And old people blame us for being bored!
Anyways after the first band moved their kit off the stage, Throwdown's Ben Dussault jumps on the stage to set up the equipment and get sound checking. After a million adjustments, the whole band hit the stage and the pit tears open. Throwdown have that trademark Trustkill sound that transfers all the songs in to a never-ending beatdown, every camo-wearing fans wet dream. By the bands second song, 'We Will Rise' the band had the pit feeding out of their hands. Fans recited every word Dave Peter sang, whether they're in the pit or at the bar.
Halfway through the set, Ben's snare drum brakes and the music stops. The crowd are left waiting once again for the show to continue. This time it wasn't such a band thing, as the pit seemed to have lost it's momentum. During this break it had time to recover in order to throttle out the last 15 minutes of the show. Singer Dave Peters starts telling jokes and talking to the crowd but nothing can save the band from the awkward silence of stand up comedy. Once the snares fixed, the band head back into their set and things start rolling again. Fans particularly enjoyed old favourite 'forever' which the band dedicated to every one at the show that night. By the end of the set it was clear that Throwdown had played a particularly good set, it was just the lack of enthusiasm and energy from the crowd towards the end of the set and poor venue management that let the night down.