Live Review: Electric Callboy - Electric Ballroom, London 21/04/2022
Electric Ballroom, Electric Callboy. Electric gig. With support from Blind Channel and One Last Morning, what more needs to be said?
Arriving a little later than planned, we emerged into the slightly labyrinthine Electric Ballroom in Camden as the first band of the night, One Last Morning, were already in full gear; in fact, just as they were introducing their next song: “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. This punk-metal take on the classic, introduced by a retro, 8-bit sound effect, immediately had the crowd screaming along — if a little hesitant as to how well received his songs should be given the state of everything. So, too, was the band’s gushing gratitude to the legendary and perhaps infamous icon met with hollers, applause and cheers... cheers that seemed to rise and fall as people second guessed themselves. But there’s no question as to the enjoyment their cover provided. Similarly, laying down a challenge — ‘we want to know the most vicious pit in Europe’ — One Last Morning riled the crowd up into a competitive frenzy, with the five piece — well, the four not nailed to the drum kit — took to the front of the stage to conduct the pits and crowd surfers to the sound of “You’re Dead! Let’s Disco!” A visibly brilliant start to the night, even through only a short glimpse of their metalcore magic.
A short break and the raising of the house lights revealed the crowd, and the mixture of black, floral, and neon sport tops that bedecked the thousands packed into the sweaty room; fake moustaches and real mullets went hand in hand with sweatbands and glitteringly made up faces — the sort of chaos that an Electric Callboy show really should be.
The lights dropping back down suddenly, and the red searchlights beaming across the crowd as strobes began to flash across the stage, signified the next chapter of the night — Blind Channel. After deservedly reaching a new global echelon of fame after representing Finland at the 2021 Eurovision competition last year — and not winning the whole damn thing, which is still daylight robbery — this marked the first and only opportunity for anyone in the UK to see them since 2018. The ominous red lights, illuminating waves of headbanged hair emerging from the steadily growing pit, were the precursor to the furious Balboa, quickly followed by the saga that is Died Enough For You. The true fans quickly emerged, screaming every word as the Finnish favourites blasted through hit after surprisingly anthemic hit. And, as the only chance to see the band for the foreseeable — with one or two in the front row even live-streaming the set on Instagram for those who couldn’t make the quickly-sold-out show — they left everything on the podium-esque stage; even going so far as to unleash a mash up of a nu-metalified cover of Eminem's iconic Lose Yourself with their own Snake, complete with sickly, reptilian green light shining over the crowd.
After imploring the crowd to buy merch from the ‘Gandalf looking guy at the back” so that they could make it back for a headline show of their own in September, the crowd were raring for another song. Here, the band decided to do a new song - bad idea.
As in, that’s the song title: 'Bad Idea'. Lighters and phone torches lit up the electric ballroom through the pseudo-love ballad, and they kept on shining through the band’s second cover: their ferocious, metallic take on Anastacia’s Left Outside Alone.
Finally, after a well-deserved mini encore, it was time for some wholesome, family friendly Eurovision. By which I mean primal grunts leading to an anarchic anthem, complete with suicide, hedonism and the 27 club: Dark Side. It’s an angsty, angry and arsenic ear worm of a song and a crowning moment for the fan favourites — literally, having come second in the popular vote! Again, should've won! But a fantastic set nonetheless, and hopefully an indicator of more to come from the band.
After a short break, punctuated by some rock classics — including The Darkness, Kiss, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard... the list goes on — it was time for the manic metal of Electric Callboy. “In a world of desolation and sadness”, the voiceover tells us, “six over-attractive men arose to bring back the joy. So, prepare yourselves for the time of your lives... this is Hypa Hypa 2022”. Despite regrettably not actually being a film, this set the tone for the night; barmy, jokingly narcissistic, and just pure fun.
And no more true was it at any other moment than in those first opening seconds of recent hit single Pump It. Walking out on stage looking like a remake of Globo Gym from Ben Stiller’s classic comedy ‘Dodgeball’, Electric Callboy were a sight to behold. But there was nothing funny about their performance.
Actually, that’s a lie. There was a lot, but in only the best way. Electronic tinged pop music, an inspirational anthem for the gym-goer, quickly transitioned into furious, blood burning growls and blood curdling screams all to the sight of six German men curling imaginary weights and jumping up and down to the tune of thousands of rabid fans shouting along; quickly followed by the similarly frantic My Own Summer, a blisteringly brilliant take on the seize the day trope that had bands of fans bouncing and bruising amidst the half-venue-wide pit that had opened by that point in the centre of the crowd.
Hate/Love and The Scene came next: with an electronic hook as catchy as if it had been ripped straight from some of Germany’s finest nightlife, the Lockdown-released single Hate/Love saw Kevin Ratajczak and co violently blend love and hate in some more swelteringly brutal breakdowns — hence the title — after a quick one-of-many costume changes, trading away the finest gym wear en lieu of some more casual garments; meanwhile, the somewhat nihilistic The Scene — part-desperately vibrant display of what it is to be be alive, part-caustic self-distancing from the usual stereotype of too-serious metalheads — fluctuated between rap, metal, and ear-rupturing drums, all with a healthy dose of strobe.
Here, the band took a moment to talk to the crowd, as well as introduce the next song: “We brought over a full German song... we wrote it in a day”. With glittering silver confetti cascading over the adoring crowd, listeners were greeted with the blaring, alarm-esque ‘... Castrop X Spandau’ as the band did their natural tongue proud in their usual spectacular, if a little over the top, fashion.
Yet, despite this, the band always seem to know how to (even just barely) toe the line. The chaotic Supernova, part of the Rage 2 soundtrack — a game about a dystopian wasteland, somewhat akin to Mad Max — is, on record, complete with horns, harmonies, and the usual hedonistic dose of headbanging, yet live is a little more controlled; meanwhile the raucous Best Day, on record featuring German rapper Sido, had the crowd poised to explode in rapture as the band poured out those opening riffs. The vitriolic Back In The Bizz and the somehow-heavier-still Crystals marked the end to this half of the show; with throat-wrenching screams emanating from the stage, it’s a wonder the band had the ability for what came next.
And what came next was Seal.
“I think people are too aggressive”, the band jokes; "screaming and shouting everywhere. Let’s do some acoustic shit”. And of course, the go to is Kiss From A Rose, as they broke into the opening lines.
Not really, but the short tease and sudden yanking away of the sometimes-meme and sometimes-masterpiece had the crowd in tatters; cries of ‘WE WANT SEAL’ persisted long after the band played their genuine acoustic number, in the form of Prism — a fantastic song, and one that really highlights the band’s vocals and song writing when you tear away the brutal backdrop of the drums and the other accoutrements.
Keen to get the energy back up after that much needed respite, the band broke into recent release Spaceman. It’s honestly a wonder that they didn’t emerge back on stage in full-on spacesuits as per the music video; with everything else that had happened, it would have surprised precisely no one. Full of up-tempo synth and insanely danceable melodies, plus a near seamless blend of German and English, what’s not to like?
The fantastic Rehab quickly followed, somehow sounding like three songs mashed together; the usual, ferocity of Electric Callboy’s distinctive electro metal; an emotionally painful introspective pseudo rock ballad; and a gentle, low-intensity admission over a prevailing beat. It’s a fantastic song that deserves the justice it receives live.
A quick vein bursting interlude, It’s Going Down, brings us to the ‘final’ song of the night — the tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness that is MC Thunder II (Dancing Like A Ninja). The name says it all — metal, dubstep, and a scary amount of energy. It was a shame to see it end, and the band to go victoriously off stage.
Not for long though, obviously. It was encore time! But the band made good use of it, flying back on stage in matching white jumpers and bowl cut wigs to the neck bopping absurdity of We Got The Moves, a summer anthem for people who want to sweat, and the crowd wide chant that came with it.
Just look up the single artwork, it tells you everything you need to know.
MC Thunder was next, the original. Both MC Thunders are stupidly good fun, with lyrics that you can’t help but pick up and scream along to, and what better way to end the night than in such a triumphant, ecstatic manner?
Well, with another encore of course! One final outfit change, this time into neon and glitter, and the band were back on. It’s the Hypa Hypa tour, after all. What sort of show would it be without the breakout wonder of Hypa Hypa? Hypa Hypa: the song that inspired a re-release of an album just to add seven different remixes; that infectious, infamous backing track had been screamed in moments of quiet throughout the night by the crowd; it was time for Electric Callboy to provide.
With bone-battering bass and a smothering intensity slotted between moments of hip thrusting grooviness, it was just a shame they couldn't have done the aforementioned seven versions too. One of them is a sea shanty, for Heaven's sake!
But, still, what a perfect way to end the night.
Well, that and the ingenious marketing of emerging one last time to throw hundreds of beer mats into the crowd emblazoned with promotion for and a QR code to pre-order upcoming album ‘Tekkno’ in September; the crowd surged upwards as one to try and get these little mementos as a final concrete memory to bring home.
At least a few people stayed in the crowd long after Electric Callboy had left, just in case they came out again — with everything that went you, you never know. But, alas, that seemed to be it as a fantastic end to an insane night -- both with just how great all three bands were and just the sheer mania emanating from the stage over the night.
Electric Callboy, especially, are poised to take the world by storm; and with festival appearances at Slam Dunk in the Summer, as well as a newly announced UK tour hitting the shores in September, it shouldn’t be much more of a step.
Words by James O’Sullivan
Photography by Kevin Sullivan
