Funeral For a Friend - Gig Review, Nottingham Rock City

Well I got a bit of a tour of the venue by my very own good friend, and Jitty worker, James. As this was my first major gig, I was very excited to go back stage. As this was happening, I was hoping to see FFaF but sadly didn't. On the upside, I did see Amity Affliction though, with Troy Brady (The Guitarist) being interviewed by James. I was told that I could chip in with any questions of my own, but that didn't happen because in all honesty I got all nervous, and opted to observe instead!

Amity Affliction took the stage, and they were by far the best support act there for me, and I'm not just saying that because we interviewed them! Sorry to the other guys but I have to be honest. That's not to say that other support acts were no good, because each act got a great response from the crowd, but Amity Affliction just really stood out.

But of course, everyone was here for the main event, Funeral For a Friend and as they came on to the darkened stage the crowd went mental! Ryan came on first and gave us some drumming to set us off while he settled in behind his kit. As the other members jogged on, the venue was full of shouting fans. From couples, to groups of friends. A large number of fans had made the journey to Rock City but I noticed the upstairs balcony wasn't open (I did ask, but didn't get any information from the Security Staff on that).

The first song they broke out with was "Front Row Seats To The End Of The World". A song from their new release. Everyone seemed to jump and shout / sing along, but most didn't know the words, so mumbling was allowed(understandable because it is kind of a new song). After the song, Matthew talked to the crowd for a bit, welcome to Nottingham and so on (although at one point later though, he did say Newcastle) before asking them to make a mosh pit (which was a certain inevitability). As I was at my first big gig, I didn't get too far in. I ended up near some couples and two young girls who just stared in disbelief! I felt like the odd one out for a while, as I head banged to the next few songs.

I think the song with the most feedback would be Oblivion. The words / melodies were coming from the fans more than the band. On the stairs, there were a group of fans with the Welsh flag. Matthew was of course destined to make a shout out about that! A few minutes later though, Matthew made his Newcastle gaffe, the audience responded with a mixture of laughing and booing. Whether it was intentional or not Matthew sang a "I'm sorry" song, which as hi finished off, Gavin being ever helpful called him a f... well, we won't say what he called him, but the audience certainly found it funny.

As ever, the crowd were lively, with Funeral For A Friend putting in an amazing performance, with some well chosen superb support acts!

By James Clayton