From the bottom to the
top is correct for the show I witnessed earlier this month. As ‘Basement’
quietly chart their rise from east to west.
The line up tonight
was stretching both sides of the Atlantic, headliners Basement hail from the
UK, while the rest of the line up, ‘Citizen’ and ‘Pronoun’ come from east coast
USA. However, no one could feel more at home in the Madison ‘Majestic’ theater,
even with the diverse fan base from age to style everyone is made to feel welcomed
to this show. Opening band for the tour is the reason I was invited here, ‘pronoun’
are new onto the scene sounding out their distinct vibe. They manage to sedate
the audiences gaze for the set but fail to land a punch, with an unfortunately heavy
washed out vocal sound, it was hard to hear much more than the background track.
They sound great online but did not transpire well live on this occasion.
Next band up and
arguably joint headliners is ‘Citizen’. From the start of their set the energy
is lifted tenfold, with fans screaming the lyrics back to their favorite songs
from the ‘Citizen’ full discography. There was not a dull moment from their
first cord to their last. Just like the latter band, ‘Basement’ takes the mood
of the room up further. So much so crowd surfing and mosh pits become the norm
for the rest of the set. Although they may be a long way from home, they seem
to bring it with them including everyone in the room to join in with their
energetic and exciting set.
That just leaves me a
final note to deliver a quote from my wife, “isn’t it strange for a UK band to
be called Basement, when the UK doesn’t really have them...”, too true.
