Funeral For A Friend, Fightstar - Manchester Academy 1 - 03/6/06
3/5
By: Dave Adair
Volume and intensity - these seem to be the goals that Charlie (yeah, him from Busted) Simpson and his new band Fightstar reach for, and, in the tearing lament of 'Waste A Moment', to a certain extent achieve early on. The sorrowful subject matter and gruff heartiness with which Simpson's vocals are projected above the sauntering guitars and crunching percussion is a brief indication that Fightstar may indeed yet get the hang of crafting the properly aching rock song they search for.
Alas, after such a ray of darkness, the repetitious riffs and Simpson's grating attempts at a macho growl leave the set limping along with as much chance of final glory as John Prescott's political survival campaign. 'Build An Army' adds a snap of bite and cogency and stirs the crowd up, but even so, the hit and miss nature of Fightstar is too much for one fan to take and he or she promptly hurls eggs at them. Booked to play the self same venue in mid October, one gets the impression that a great deal of experimenting should be indulged in during the meantime if they are to pull it off with any more success. The potential to do so though was, at times, hinted at.
Over the PA system 'We Will Rock You' booms, whilst young excited hands flutter in the air as expectation builds for the entrance of theWales emo brigade - Funeral for a Friend. The opening pitch of the proceedings, 'Dance Til' We Die', is an unashamed, heart wrenching, guitar wrestling discharge providing Matt Davies the chance to demonstrate that his vocal power grows even more potent, as he vociferously grapples with the contradictions of love with help from a keen crowd.
The set takes on a reflective tone spanning their first two albums, with 'Rookie of the Year' inspiring the largest (though by stricter standards, rather tame) circle pit, whilst single from recent times 'History' shows up FFAF's ability to slow things down and build the emotion through lyrical power rather than guitar onslaught, also featuring a new, higher vocal effort - perhaps a sign for the future.
From the stage, our guys proudly announced they will soon head into the studio to tread into often trouble fraught, always expectation rising third album territory. On tonight's evidence, perhaps there is one problem with their attitude ahead of this arduous task - if anything, they seem to be smiling a little too much in order to be able to recapture that woe grappling tension release which many have come to expect from, and adore about them.
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