Test (Brazil) and Peace

The Assembly in Leamington Spa may have seemed like an odd choice of venue to many Peace fans when the band announced their UK tour in early 2014. "Why not just play Birmingham?" was the cry of many in the Midlands area. But it turned out that the venue was perfect for Peace; small enough that everybody could see the band, and big enough that the sound system was good and that there was enough people to get some excellent raving going. From early on I could tell it was going to be a good gig; the crowd was mainly made up of people in their teens and early 20s, so they would be sure to have plenty of energy to jump, mosh and sing along for an hour. The support act showed I was right with that theory as the audience went crazy for them, despite not knowing most of their songs. But when the lights went down to indicate that Peace were about to enter stage, the crowd went insane: cheering, clapping and even some screaming for a couple of minutes until they started their opening song "Follow Baby." As soon as the amazingly exciting guitar riff started, the crowd went mad and it was soon impossible to be in the middle of the standing area and stand still for more than 2 seconds. During the incredibly catchy chorus, I doubt there was anyone not singing along, the atmosphere was just compelling. Peace moved swiftly to their next song, the great sing-a-long that is "Money," and continued through their well-chosen set list, which mainly included songs off their debut album but also three new songs. Throughout the set the audience were brilliant, never seeming to lose their energy and keeping the moving about and moshing going strong. Even in slower songs like "California Daze" and "Float Forever" the constant pushing, jumping and just general raving didn't stop. A highlight of the gig was definitely "Lovesick." The crowd cheered as Harrison Koisser announced the name of the song and everybody sung in unison during pretty much the whole thing. The set ended with a bang with the mosh-pit-worthy "Bloodshake," which saw the biggest mosh pit of the whole gig after a dramatic build up to the ending of the song, which finished the gig on a definite high. The band were brilliant. They sounded great, looked great (especially Harrison’s orange hair) and played a thoroughly exciting and entertaining hours’ worth of songs. All this for just £15 was truly amazing. When they next tour I will almost certainly be buying tickets, and would definitely recommend seeing them live to anyone. I left the gig with a hoarse voice, aching legs and sweat all over me: all good signs of a brilliant gig.