Live Review: Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - O2 Academy Brixton, London 08/12/2017
Well they went and bloody did it! Sold out Brixton Academy! And what is the best way to do it? Play every song you have ever released! If you are gonna do it, do it the Rattlesnakes way!
With support coming from alt-rockers Basement, the band played a tight set throughout, with a part of the crowd singing their songs back to them. It was a big stage for them, and they held themselves together on it, showing us that at some point they could headline this stage themselves.
The lights dim. The venue is shaking with the amount of people chanting the bands name.
RATT - LE - SNAKES! RATT - LE - SNAKES! RATT - LE - SNAKES! RATT - LE - SNAKES!
Over and over!
The band walk in turn onto the stage, to a great applause, and soon to follow the man of the year, Frank Carter joins them, making the venue erupt!
Normally when a band say they are going to play something in full, it is normally an album, but if you think about it, The Rattlesnakes are still a young band, so when they said they were going to play all twenty three it was a clear statement from them as a band. They have worked their arse off from the moment go, 500% all the way since the band formed. So they were going to leave everything they had on that stage tonight, and everything they had was, well, twenty three songs!
Opening with 'Primary Exposive' the venue smashes into a punk dance venue, with everyone in the room getting into the groove of the song. How do you pick an opener from the two fantastic albums the band has put out? You get everyone into a party mood!
They spend the evening making a huge room feels insanely personal, which has been the core of this band, it's fans and the community around them. They take the room on a rollercoaster of emotions, with songs about loss, and songs about anger. But the most importantly the room was joined together in it all. And the band are the cause of this, and it is one of the main reasons why everyone loves them.
We also have to give this guy a mention, Frank Carter, the modern Freddie Mercury, quite simply the best frontman the modern music scene has to offer at the moment. Always bringing the show to the people, throughout the night he plays a game of "Where's Frank?", by riding the crowd to climbing the sound desk to being up on the seated balcony.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes told us they were going to leave everything the had on that stage, with the twenty three songs, with their energy, with their crowd and most certainly their community. They gave more than that, and the crowd gave it back.
The world tilted on it axis at Brixton! And when people ask why? One word comes out of your mouth.
Rattlesnakes!
Photography and Review by Ant Adams