Hang 'em High
Million pound album deals, upcoming US tours with Bad Religion and more press coverage than the Royal Family! What a couple of years it's been for Gallows and this weekend at Reading and Leeds festivals they finally get to see the culmination of all their efforts with a packed out tent and a rapturous reception.
Kicking off with 'Come Friendly Bombs' Gallows are out to show that no matter what the size of the stage they are still going to rip it up and put their all into the performance. Straight away they totally go for it, flinging guitars around with abandon whilst singer Frank Carter mixes up leaping around with staring wild eyed into the audience. During the excellent 'Abandon Ship' he climbs up on the speakers and even this early on the crowd is going as wild as the band.
There has been some criticism that they don't have enough material yet to justify headline sets but today's 45 minute slot is a perfect showcase for them. There are a couple of nice additions to the set, most notably 'Black Heart Queen', which appeared as one of the extra tracks on the recent re-release of their debut album. They play with such passion and aggression that the set just flys by and before we know it they're on the last song and as they rip into 'Orchestra of Wolves' there are a couple of surprises left. Carter jumps down into the crowd and climbs up one of the stanchions, hanging there whilst the crowd call for him to jump. He duly does and surfs aloft a sea of arms and not surprisingly the crowd go crazy. Meanwhile up on stage the rest of the band are joined by Liam from Cancer Bats who takes over vocal duties before a host of others from the back of the stage join in the fun.
It's an excellent performance once again and a great finale. Turner is visibly moved by the reaction of such a big crowd and if anything over does the sincerity this time. When you think where they've come from in such a short space of time though you can hardly blame the guy. One of the sets of the weekend.