Titus Andronicus
Rocking New Jersey four piece, Titus Andronicus, continued their UK tour supporting fellow Americans Soft Pack at London's historic 100 Club, a venue lead singer Patrick Stickles seemed very excited about playing after seeing the pictures of bands that had previously gigged there upon the venues walls. Some of those bands, such as The Clash and Sex Pistols , have previously been mentioned in describing Titus Andronicus sound.
The nine song set showcased perfectly songs from their debut album, The Airing of Grievances, which is just full of interesting song titles including the set openers Upon Viewing Brueghel's "Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus" and "My Time Outside the Womb" show. They also set up those unaware what we are in for, plenty of fast energetic mainstream punk sung with gravelly vocals through Patrick Stickles impressive thick beard.
Titus Andronicus pound through their set as if their lives depended on it, never easing up with the energy or good tunes too, including a cover of Shock Troops by UK punk legends Cock Sparrer, which the majority of the crowd seemed have never heard of, not good enough London. The penultimate song of the set was "Titus Andronicus", which still sounds like its heart has been taken from White Riot before finishing with the angry and highly enjoyable "Fear and Loathing In Mahwah, NJ" finishing to load cheers from the busy 100 Club.
Overall an impressive 40 minutes, which despite not being as energetic as previous Titus Andronicus gigs, was still far more than most bands could dream of. As for the Sex Pistols and Clash references, well on this showing you can easily see the links to the latter, these guys can play too.