Photo: Jay Russell

Live Review: Glassjaw – 20+ Year Anniversaries Tour – O2 Forum Kentish Town

The hustle and bustle of Kentish Town. It’s a sight to behold. The buzz and the anticipation is rampant as you walk up to the Forum who plays host to a very special extravaganza celebrating all things Glassjaw. It is a takeover of Kentish Town for two nights that will see two masterpieces played back to back in all of their glory. Night 1 is ‘Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence’ from start to finish and everyone seems to be 100% all in.

Photo: Jay Russell

Before that, it’s Loathe that have the honours of warming up the crowd, a job that the band executes with relative ease. Loathe have this really impressive ability to go from fairly beautiful to absolutely blistering and everything in between all while looking seemingly at home on the stage. At times it’s intense and electrifying, other times it’s a moment of calm before we hear it all over again as well as a chance – for the die hards – to participate in a good ol’ fashioned sing-a-longs. The only criticism? It’s all over far too quick. A good problem to have.

But the night is young, and it belongs to Glassjaw who waste very little time as ‘Pretty Lush’ kicks off the chaos as things go from zero to sixty in no time. It’s smiles all around too as Daryl Palumbo darts around the stage wearing his is infectious grin. Don’t be fooled however, the sheer ferociousness of these songs feels like anything but a smiling matter. ‘Lovebites and Razorblades’ sounds even more pissed off live than it does on record while ‘Hurting and Shoving’ sounds like it could be the soundtrack to being repeatedly punched in the face. Its one of the standout moments of the night and a realisation that while the record itself indeed sounds like it came straight out of the 2000’s, the playthrough in a live environment sounds as modern and fresh as anything else you have heard on this stage.

There is also an additional treat for the fans tonight once – An encore consisting of 2011’s ‘Our Colour Green’ which is unfortunate for the many in attendance that may have already spent their energy earlier in the night, especially considering the encore begins with the grade A certified banger ‘All Good Junkies Go To Heaven’.

‘Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence’ may be the least popular of the two albums being showcased, but this full live playthrough acts as a perfect reminder of why its totally ok to be on the fence if asked which is the better album – as tonight’s performance make answering such a question a complete an utter nightmare. A rowdy night of noisy fun – if this is the first of two shows, then god help us for tomorrow.