Funeral for a Friend LIVE

**The very final date of Funeral For A Friend’s intimate tour came to an end in Birmingham, at the lesser-known venue of The Asylum. The venue is entirely purpose-built for this kind of show which made it a cut above the ordinary venue that occasionally hosts a night of heavier music.**

Red Bull Bedroom Jam winners **I Divide** kicked things off when the venue was only about half full at best. Though, with more force than your average opener they managed to inspire at least a tentative enthusiasm from the slightly older demographic. ‘This Ship’s Going Down’ got a few people nodding their heads and was the stand out track of their arsenal, a solid bit of pop-punk, a great lead guitar line and a group vocal segment that translated well live. Their energy meant a fairly sloppy performance but some infectious cross vocals and driving riffs throughout definitely had people warmed up by the end of their short set.

Next up was New Jersey pop-punk outfit **Major League**. With a style that takes you back to pop-punk’s heyday, they were a refreshing contrast to the rest of the bill. Strong drumming and a front man that had the energy which the genre demands, made for a very good set. They rattled through their tracks (most of which were from their belter of a debut full-length _Hard Feelings_) at breakneck speed, only pausing to give a remarkably heartfelt speech about how great the tour had been for them and how the UK had now become home, etc. They didn’t push any boundaries of the genre but that’s what made it such a nostalgically fun set.

Final support came in the form of **Such Gold**, a US melodic hardcore quintet that stepped up the pace and movement with ease. The venue had filled out by this point and they did their job of psyching everyone up for the headliner. They managed to stay the right side of messy and the sound was passionate, rather than chaotic. The choice of a band this heavy as support is certainly a clear sign that **Funeral For A Friend** have gone back to their more thrashy roots and it makes for a buzzing show.

Funeral For A Friend were greeted with the roar you expect for a band known for their prolific exploits. Front-man Matt Davies took the job of hyping the crowd up from start to finish and didn’t disappoint. It was only for the headliners that the potential of the sound system was properly realised and the light show that accompanied their set was immense. The tour veterans asserted their position with a commanding performance all round; the experience of their years evident in unfaltering tightness, most obvious in their many breakdowns.

Touring to promote their new album _Conduit_, the set was of course spliced with unfamiliar new songs. Having said that, their set was coherent with the old and the new; classics like ‘Juneau’ kept the seasoned fans happy, while their new stuff went down well – not least because they still have the energy that makes you forget they’re the oldest band on the bill. Davies even dropped in a cheeky reaction to criticism about their changing style: “Take your hearts out of 2003 and put them into 2013, staying in the past is bullshit”. One of their fans described it all as an “intimate treat” and this is exactly what it was; it was proof that Funeral For A Friend’s sound still works in a small venue, and that they can still tear it apart.