It’s a well-known fact that going to the Lemmy can be a no no, especially on a week day, but this Tuesday I chanced a return to the student nightclub as it welcomed back Cambridge band Mallory Knox for their Homecoming Tour. Last November, the five piece band were kicking off a tour in support of their second album Asymmetry. It was daring – the album itself had only been released a couple of weeks before – but it worked. So, with the guys back in Exeter for their new tour I was pretty excited to see how the feel for the songs had changed for both the band and the audience over the past year.
At first glance you’d of thought it was a standard Saturday night, dim lighting, alcohol, and queues for the toilets. That is until you started realising the variation of ages didn’t quite match up. Instead of a festival of bump and grind, the venue was full of college kids, families and the odd local who looked like he’d gone for a night out with the lads, had one too many and got lost. Just as soon as I began to get anxious the numbers on the large projector were counted down and the curtain dropped. The first line of ‘Shout at the Moon’ was sung and I forgot all my anxieties. With drummer Dave perched amongst the striking MK lettering and the rest of the band spread across the stage I had all faith that we were in for an eventful evening..
THE FIRST LINE OF “SHOUT AT THE MOON” WAS SUNG AND I FORGOT ALL MY ANXIETIES
.They filled the night with a mix of old favourites like ‘Oceans’, newer tracks like ‘Dare You’, and slowed it down with the heartfelt ‘Heart and Desire’. Touched by a speech about all kinds of love being great, the whole room seem to take a step back and fall silent. There was swaying as Mikey sung relatable lyrics about complications in relationships, but the heavy atmosphere picked back up as soon as they played ‘Ghost in the Mirror’. Back in November Guitarist James felt ‘Getaway’ was going to gain a big response, and after releasing the song as a fourth single it’s safe to say it didn’t fail in hitting the right note. Exeter’s crowd certainly fulfilled James’ predictions, as the chorus dropped and the words ‘cause you’re dying just to tell me you’re not’ were screamed out.
I have to give credit to frontman Mike Chapman, suffering from a cold, who praised Lemsip as his “Lord and Saviour”. As you would expect, the crowd helped him out with the high notes, and he pushed through songs like ‘Glimmer’ and ‘She Took Him to the Lake’ with gumption. Drive and attitude are the main attributes of this British rock band, and their stage presence proves that this gigging is what they really love. After a three song encore the set ended on their most well-known song, ‘Lighthouse’. It was undoubtedly a crowd pleaser and gave the band (including Guitarist Joe who didn’t seem too satisfied throughout the set) something to smile about as the show finished with a bang! After wrapping the tour up at London’s roundhouse on Friday night, I’m eager to find out what the guys will be working on next.