hecklergigs: Biffy Clyro, Oceansize, The Like - Koko, Feb 20

The bands just keep getting younger these days don’t they? This is LA three-piece The Like’s first London show - they formed back in 2001, when they were still teenagers, so they’re all completely at home on stage, at the ripe old age of about 22.

The Like are both calming and rocking, and you can’t ignore their beguiling stage presence. Z Berg’s voice instantly soothes, it has a mature rich tone that soars over their stormy rock sounds. Just beside her, drummer Tennessee Thomas sits relaxed like a long haired rag doll in a white dress, sticks flailing. And last but not least is Charlotte Froom, long legs, short skirt and a bass guitar, grooving on the spot.

Highlights of tonight’s set include June Gloom, starting softly, then
opening out into a louder thrashier chorus. Bridge To Nowhere carries
on with the smooth mix of grace and world-weariness.  Most of the crowd
are standing like zombies, but the sight of four or five people about halfway
back having a good old dance is heartening. “Thanks for tolerating us,
and not throwing things at us, it’s very kind of you.” says Z politely,
seemingly unsure of how well they’re being received. But as Tennessee
lets the sticks bounce out of her hands and they leave the stage, there
are happy appreciative cheers from the crowd. They do like The Like (CDs)
after all.

Oceansize (CDs) take the stage next, and top marks should be given for consistency, and uh, volume! Frontman Mike
Vennart keeps one hand behind his back and one on the mic as he howls
into it, and there are lots of tight stop-start moments from the five
of them, collectively cracking out some huge chunks of sound. Sure enough, there’s a circle pit forming.

Mark
Heron’s super crisp drumbeats begin the next song, as Mike moves his
arm robotically, sweeping the strings of his guitar. During a quieter
moment in the set, some delicate guitar lines echoing around all the
way up to the ceiling of the Koko. They’re all having a blast, and the huge contrast in
dynamics is impressive. Some of the songs might be a bit long, but nobody’s complaining, we get to watch people happily smashing into each other
in the pit downstairs. The band ends on some more slow, well executed
chucks of rock, leaving a breathtaking gap in the chaos just before the
end, and then one final long howling wail to make sure we remember them.

The first time this writer saw Biffy Clyro (CDs) was last summer, and we remember
getting caught up in singing along with songs we’d never even heard
before. It’s not hard to do, especially with the way Biffy fans are,
you’d have to be fairly cynical not to wanna sing and scream along with
the best of ‘em.

The best moments
tonight are buoyed by the fans – the inspiring sound of hundreds of
them singing all the words together, as crowdsurfers are cradled and
bumpily rolled towards the front of the surging swaying mass of bodies.
They do all the handclaps in unison, sing along to guitar solos -the
least the rest of us can do is sing along to Take Me To Your Blackened Sky again.
There are more epic moments as they go from the most quiet and
intricate starts to a massive crescendo that’s a euphoric surge of
adrenalin straight to your head. At the end of the set truckloads of
white confetti rains down on everyone, and it seems like a fitting end
to what felt like a bit of a celebration.

[review by Dedee W]