AmpedReviews.net

Rolo Tomassi - The Plug, Sheffield - April 16th 2009
Support: Grammatics

Tonight’s show is a strictly Northern affair, what with Sheffield’s own Rolo Tomassi choosing to tour with two of Leeds’ finest up-and-coming indie acts, Pulled Apart By Horses, and Grammatics.

Unfortunately, Pulled Apart By Horses have had to cancel tonight’s performance as guitarist James Brown is in hospital with a leg infection, after cutting his knee open on the first night of the tour. So, it’s down to Grammatics to get the crowd moving and, it has to be said, I’ve never seen such a miserable-looking band, especially cello player Emilia Ergin, whose face remains set throughout their forty-five minute performance. Even a photographer taking endless snaps of her, completely fails to get a reaction. She simply blanks him, as she blanks the audience and, for 99% of the show, as she blanks her bandmates.

Even when Grammatics pour energy into their performance during their dramatic, cello-drenched, indie-opera highs, they still manage to look bored out of their skulls. It’s actually rather impressive. But, as their set progresses, it becomes apparent that, beneath the grim expressions, Grammatics are actually pretty good. Emilia is a fantastic cello player, able to coax mind-boggling noises out of the unassuming-looking instrument. From deep, bass notes that make your insides tremble, to melodramatic screeching, she knows how to get the most out of a few strings.

Towards the end of their set, Grammatics throw in a few new songs, which sees them playing up their dramatic leanings, and filling the Plug’s box-room with an epic sweep of cello-studded sound. It’s far more arresting than their previous material, and suggests that Grammatics might just be a band to watch out for. Hopefully, future success might cheer them up a bit.

And then it’s time for tonight’s headliners, and one question springs to mind: has no-one noticed that Rolo Tomassi are hardcore? Not only are they topping a bill of decidedly indie-centric acts, but tonight’s crowd is far from what you’d expect to find at a hardcore show. Only one long-haired metalhead seems to have twigged on to the fact that Rolo Tomassi are a hardcore band, and he spends the entire show nailed to the barriers, moshing, throwing devil signs and whipping his hair in the faces of bemused onlookers.

Apart from that one enthusiastic metalhead, tonight’s crowd seem a little unsure of Rolo Tomassi, but they’re actually shockingly good. Vocalist Eva Spence is an entrancing frontwoman: she’s young, slight, blonde and has a sweet speaking voice - but then she opens her mouth and it’s like Randy Blythe from Lamb of God has taken possession of her vocal chords. She screams, howls, bellows and shrieks like a banshee. Every word is unintelligible and throat-shreddingly ferocious. She sounds like she might be about to throw up at any moment.

Added to her jaw-dropping hardcore/screamo/deathcore vocal mastery, is a mentallist performing style. She wind-mills her arms, flings the microphone about, throws herself about the stage, turns around, screams at the drum kit, turns around again, screams at the wall. She’s a woman out of control, who’s not only dancing like no-one’s watching, but is dancing like she’s having a fit, a mental breakdown and is trying to shake off her own skin, all at the same time.

It’s frightening. It’s also very, very entertaining.

But, thankfully, Rolo Tomassi isn’t all about Eva. Keyboardist James Spence clearly has a screw loose as well, clamouring up and over every available piece of equipment. At one point he’s clearly contemplating diving from the top of the speaker stack, before it dawns on him that tonight’s audience would probably shrink back in fear, rather than catch him, and he wisely pulls out of the stage dive.

Rolo Tomassi should be on hardcore bills, playing to rammed venues full of drunken metal fans. Tonight, you get the distinct impression that this isn’t their crowd, and that the mentallist juggernaut that is Rolo Tomassi would reach further levels of ferocity, if they got more crowd feedback. As it is, The Plug stands and gawps at Eva’s onstage contortions and the sight of James rolling around onstage. Consequently, you feel present, rather than caught up in the action, but that isn’t Rolo Tomassi’s fault.

Tonight, they delivered a terrifying and electrifying set and, excitingly, you sense they could be even better, in more hardcore-friendly surroundings. Catch them now, before the hardcore masses realise how great they are, and Rolo Tomassi are playing havoc in much bigger venues than this.

Review by Jessica Thornsbury

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