On a warm summers evening, in the concrete jungle of Camden's abyss, three bands were about to let rip on the unsuspecting local civilization.

Two wallowing figures soon emerged on stage being watched by those attending The Fiddlers Elbow, this duo were 5 Lives left whose unique style of rock was running wild with different influences here and there. Sure the drummer was giving his all as if he was high on matured crack, hitting everything in sight and luckily not breaking the drum kit. Whilst the crowd clearly appreciated their performance with the unsuspected encore, the vocals at times were dire and seemingly need a lot of work done to improve this, not only that but the guitarist who was also in charge of vocals lacked motion and to some extent emotion. It was a hard time to decipher what this duo were capable of and frankly some nearby felt they would find answers in downing a bottle of beer, it was going to be a long night.

[5] RHYS STEVENSON

Suddenly the temperature seemed to drop greatly, as if outside the sun had blown out or the fridge door was left wide open to allow a cold and bitter atmosphere to freeze everything in sight, literally the crowd were rooted to the spot when Melodic Death / Doom Metallers Spectral Darkwave shafted out their cunning and eloquent dramatis persona that welcomed them to induct impromptu after impromptu via extravagant music playing.  This may well be a huge step for the London boys but the best is sure to come in the future, it is early days but this trio could well be a promising act from the deepest and darkest sewers in the underground algorithm that is leading many unsigned bands in the UK to being justly recognized.

[8] RHYS STEVENSON

< One Final Stitch message was black and white, they were born to rock

The final act of the evening was One Final Stitch, a no-nonsense hard rock band tinged with what they call 'Girl Metal', hailing from the back streets of Ockendon, they brought another killer performance given due this was their first live show in London, accidentally headlining (headliner pulled out) and 2nd gig overall. Since their first gig at Southend Chinnerys a couple or so weeks back, the fearsome foursome have excelled in making their music more tighter, more meaningful and with added grit, grisliness and good ole fashion rock 'n' roll. During their set they unleashed now tracks, some of which were so powerful Camden was lucky not to suffer window explosions let alone earth tremors let off by this Teutonic musical machine. As they ground into the dirt and delivered sting after sting, the crowd roared with excitement and appraisal, not only had the band done the remarkable at performing sensationally well at their second gig, but more so in London as their 2nd overall gig. However the show was not complete as it did not feature any 'this is what happens when the lights go down' jokes.

[9] RHYS STEVENSON

< There was some war going on between two musicians of The Dirty Youth

Location: Camden, London
Venue: Electric Ballroom
Bands: The Dirty Youth (Wales), The Rasmus (Finland)
Date: Friday 14th December 2012


Wales has already been a known producer of some of the finest rock and metal acts to grace the music venue circuit, the likes of Lostprophets, Skindred and Bullet For My Valentine are more than likely to have played a Camden venue at some point, now it was the turn of female-fronted rockers The Dirty Youth. Stepping out into the breach and performing prior to the Finnish legend rockers The Rasmus, it was down to the  quintet to set the tone for this evenings rock music extravaganza, they did it in sensational fashion. Danni set the room alight clad in leather and her hot pink hair stood out from the stage so much fans at the back of the room did not need to second glance or use binoculars to recognize who she was. Performing some of their best songs, the five-piece did the job in setting the tone for the evening, it was inevitable that the vast majority of fans in this gig were here to see The Rasmus, but on the other hand The Dirty Youth will have won a whole new load of fans. Blasting out their twisted style of Hard Rock  and soft rock together, produced a sound that would have made the likes of AC/DC and The Beatles very impressed, sure it was a little bit of a strange sound but that is what makes The Dirty Youth themselves and as they flicked from song to song fans could tell the band were enjoying themselves, however as time was ticking and the clocks were turning, the set was nearly over but not before Danni shouted out 'Who is looking forward to The Rasmus?', might as well be honest she was definitely looking forward to seeing their set! And so it was time, as the Welsh rockers left the stage with a feeling of achievement, the interlude gave fans a chance to get psyched up for the grand masters of Finnish rock who were waiting in the wings to ascend to the stage.

[8.5]

Lauri had only just noticed that Mr. Sauli Niinistö, the Finnish president was in the crowd >

The Finnish rock legends signalled their stage arrival in dramatic fashion as the stage lights dimmed down into darkness, what came next was a real shock to the attending fans, the band went straight into playing new material off of their latest self-released album, throughout the night what was heard was selected songs from modern to past times, running past through classics such as 'In The Shadows', 'First Day of My Life', 'Ghost of Love', 'Shot', 'Sail Away' and 'Someone Else' amongst other well and truly known songs, the band of which was marking 18 years of existance did not disapooint anyone and although they performed to their utmost best, it was a saddening experience for some as one fan had said that they had grown up listening to The Rasmus right from their early days releasing demos and that she and her boyfriend had flown all the way from Rovaniemi in Finland to see this momentous occasion, despite also them visiting the relatives; it added a rather personnel connection to the whole concert and it would seem the band felt it as every-time the crowd reacted beyond expectations Lauri was ecstatic in remarking how lively the crowd was and that he loves London (and London loves him and The Rasmus!). Using elaborate projections on the band whilst playing, the music resonated through the spacious area of the Electric Ballroom and probably seeped through into the underground network as the Finnish rock band came out of the shadows to deliver what would may be their best performance in London for years. After all the concert was now in their ball park, fans were jumping up and down as if they were on springs, some even waving frantically Finnish flags; which may as well be a goodwill gesture from the UK to Finland, but even more so it felt as if it was held in Helsinki because the atmosphere was cold but also loaded with emotional rock ballads and powerful songs that course through every fan watching their band perform a show that can only be described as sensational. Sadly all good things must come to and end and well The Rasmus did not just turn it down, they did it with an almighty bang, playing some acoustic songs in the process and Eero Heinonen (bassist) donning some rather exuberant glasses which had the Finnish flags on them (whilst also slapping on his bassist something he had bought in Camden Market, a heart that as soon as noise was detected had the same effect as soundbars going up and down) and Lauri Ylönen's infamous black crow feathers in his hair bouncing away (many fans actually mentioned how much they've missed that image), but as like most bands The Rasmus had proven why they are Finnish rock legends as this show proved it, furthermore it is evident fans will see more of them in years to come, they are not done, not by a long shot.

[10]

Finally after what was perhaps the most memorable night in the living memories of the dedicated fans of The Rasmus, GMA spoke to a crowd of fans outside the venue to gather their thoughts on the entire concert, there was appraise all round. The interview can be heard and downloaded below.

Interviewees were: Alex Poulson, Cassi Gillett, James Petts and Becca Grose.
Listen to it as the fans give really personal answers and how The Rasmus has impacted on their lives.

Live footage from the concert, specifically the song 'In The Shadows', The Rasmus' most notable song was recorded, all rights reserved to GMA.

https://www.facebook.com/thedirtyyouth?ref=ts&fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/therasmusofficial?fref=ts