With tonight being the first night for University Students across the country, maneuvering around the centre of any University town has become borderline impossible. Nonetheless, with the newly refurbished Rock City Beta opening its doors to two bands at the forefront of the ongoing classic rock revival, it’s worth the effort. Collateral, who seemed to explode into the national consciousness early this year with midnight queen, need little introduction; and Piston, although they’ve been around for some time, see this as their moment and they’ve plenty to prove. It makes for an electrifying evening.
Entering Rock City Beta, it’s clear that the refurbishment has been a huge success. With a nicely framed stage (now relocated to the other side of the room), vastly improved sound and lighting, and a bar that is much more accessible than previously, it’s the perfect venue for tonight’s event and with a small, but vocally passionate crowd in attendance, it feels comfortably full without being rammed to the rafters.
Opening the night are The Darker My Horizon. The band offer crunchy, Metallica-esque riffing with classic rock vocals and tracks like Paradise and OK sit somewhere between Load-era Metallica, Europe and Thunder. They make for a good opening band, but their performance is a touch static, which undermines the quality of the music and the band don’t spark as you’d imagine they would. Nevertheless, they warm the crowd up nicely and, with members of both Collateral and Piston standing out front to cheer them on, it’s a convivial start to the evening.
In contrast, and taking to the stage like conquering champions, Piston effortlessly ratchet up the temperature a few notches and garner the biggest crowd of the night to boot. Following a weird mashup of whole lotta love and war pigs, which tells you much about their influences, Piston launch into the aptly-named dynamite. Surprisingly and satisfyingly meaty on stage, piston are seriously cool from the off, even when singer Rob Angelico’s mic has to be taped up mid-vocal (which, by the way, doesn’t detract from his performance one iota) and it’s clear from the smiles on stage that the band are playing for their lives. Next up we get the well-received single rainmaker, a track with an Aerosmith vibe and a kiss korus, whilst one more day is a fine track, even if the ends of the song steals the drum riff from Spinal Tap’s big bottom.
After a brief interlude in which hyperactive drummer Brad Newlands has some fun, we get a faithful-but-fun AC/DC cover of gone shootin’, and it’s a sign of the band’s appeal that the track is met with a more muted reception than their own blistering material. Into the night. brings the main set to a close, whilst an encore sees the band pull out their version of proud Mary, a track to which they administer one hell of a kicking, triggering a singalong in the process. It closes out an energetic and oft-thrilling set, which stands as the highlight of the night.
Collateral continue to grow at a rapid pace (and deservedly so) following their awesome launch in Camden early this year. Taking to the stage to the evergreen strains of Detroit rock city, the band launch into crunchy 1st number, big beginning, which has a strong mid-80s Kiss vibe. Frontman Angelo Tristan, who throws shapes from the moment he enters the room, marches on stage in a custom-made overcoat straight out of an Aerosmith show circa 1985 and he holds the attention well, clearly relishing his chance in the spotlight. The band offer up a supremely polished alternative to Piston’s rockier fare, tracks like big shot delivered as hard rock pastiche in a manner that seems so popular right now – indeed, the only thing missing is a bank of keyboards and, even in their absence, it is easy to imagine how the lines would fill out the sound. Angelo’s acoustic comes out next for the Jovi-esque going with the wind and stays out for dreaming. A set highlight, as it was in Camden, is Merry go round, which has one hell of a catchy chorus, whilst the band take things down a notch with the acoustic-led ballad about this boy. Of course, no Collateral set would be complete without midnight queen, the song that launched the band to an ever-expanding audience and there’s no doubt that the crowd, many of whom are proudly wearing Collateral shirts, love every well-oiled moment of the band’s set. Fully aware of the adage that it doesn’t matter if there’s one person in the audience or 100 – you have to deliver a show, Collateral really own the stage, and the set, as with the night, passes in the blink of an eye.
It’s very clear that, although the audience enjoy all the bands, there are partisan leanings in favour of one or the other. Nevertheless, both bands put on a great show and it’s impossible not to be swept up, either by the heady rush of Piston’s energetic set or the grandstanding theatrics of Collateral’s headline performance. With rock frequently being declared dead by attention grabbing journalists, nights like this are so important because they provide an opportunity for up and coming bands to showcase their skills and, whether you prefer Collateral’s velvet sheen or Piston’s rougher plaid, this double header is more than satisfying. Catch both bands while you can, because they’re not destined for stages this size for long.
