Say what you want about emo music and the associated connotations, but it’s one “genre” (legitimate or not) which is close to my heart, simply because I just get it. With that said, I was never one of those kids who dressed up like a half goth hybrid and parted his hair in such a way. If there’s one thing about me, I never let the music I listen to dictate the way I dress or look.

Wait, why has this post suddenly become about me.

On Wednesday, I saw an emo band which has been around since the mid-90s, clearly earlier than the emo bands which came out in the Noughties.

The venue was in Camden which is where 80% of gigs happen anyway so is almost always a given, but it was one which I’ve never been to before. I love looking forward to new venues. At least, I can say I’ve been there.

Underworld was the venue for this evening which was under a pub called “World’s End” which I found really amusing.

The venue, as the name suggests, was underground and dark. It had the typical underground smell and feel. The actual stage area was pretty small with the stage no more than 2 feet above the floor. There were these two massive beams right in the middle of the floor area which sort of ruined things.

Support for the evening was a band who I thought was Said Mike but apparently is now called Straight Lines. I am familiar with them since I saw them support Lights! Action! back in March of 2009 when they where still known as Said Mike. Due to the album sampler they gave out back then, two songs stood out during their set, Antics and Perfect Mistakes. I have to say their sound has improved quite a bit from the last time I saw them.

As usual, as soon as the support left the stage, people started filling up the stage area and the place got packed real quick. There were also those anxious fans who squeezed right in front.

The Get Up Kids then came on stage. I’ve never paid attention to their looks before but they did seem quite a bit older than what you’d expect from an “emo” band. Then again, they have been around since 1995 which is totally amazing.

I can hardly remember anything from the setlist and searching online has led to nothing. As far as I remember, they started off just a bit slow and after a good 4-5 songs, kicked off with Holiday which threw everyone into a frenzy. This was then double up’d by Valentine.

This is completely terrible, I can’t remember which songs exactly they played this evening as there were a lot spanning all their albums and a few new songs.

It was amazing singing along to the songs I knew which turned out to be just quite a few but it was still a very enjoyable evening.

They did close the evening with Walking On A Wire which was superb.

Apologies for a lame write up of this gig, I simply can’t remember much of the setlist from this evening. Blame it on thinking about something else throughout the evening.

Last December, something happened with the usual Christmas Number 1 single here in the UK. A couple grew tired of the X Factor winners getting the number one single each and every year and started a campaign to knock them off.

Of course, there was no other fitting song for this other than Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name which ends with “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me.”

The campaign started on Facebook and quickly gained ground until Rage Against The Machine mentioned playing a free gig if they would ever won. As you know, this is the sort of campaign and fighting the system the band is all about.

Personally, I didn’t really care much about the campaign but thought it was a cool idea. And of course, it was Rage we were talking about here, a band I’ve been listening to for years and been dying to see live.

Eventually, they won and toppled over the X Factor winner. A few months later, the victory celebration gig was announced which I luckily came across on Facebook.

Lucky since despite it being a free gig, it involved a registration process (with passport picture) for each individual and then a separate rush for ticket allocation. As far as I heard, 150,000 people registered and only 40,000 tickets were allotted.

The venue was at Finsbury Park and this gig was very reminiscent of Blur at Hyde Park for a number of reasons. Dodgy weather which was sunny at times and drizzling at some points, 3-4 support bands, wide open area with lots of bars and food stalls, gates opening at 2 PM with a wait until 5 PM for the first support, and 40,000 to 50,000 people.

For me, it was quite different as it was the first time I went to a gig with 3 people I actually knew which made the experience even better.

There were two DJ acts on stage which pumped up some tunes until the first support band was due to perform.

The first support for the evening was Gallows a pure hardcore punk band from Watford which is close to where I live. It was my first time seeing them as I missed a chance to catch them during a Kerrang gig back in 2007 due to work. When I mentioned punk, I meant it in comparison to Sex Pistols and they started off their set with a cover of God Save The Queen. For first support, they played such an entertaining and lively set with a little humour and attacks against Justin Bieber.

Roots Manuva was the second support for the evening. Not my cup of tea which is all I’m going to say about them.

However, the third support act completely blew things out of the water. The band was Gogol Bordello who played one of the liveliest and most entertaining support acts I’ve ever seen. They were an older group of people but played with so much energy on stage and pretty much everyone was enjoying their performance even the people I went to the gig with. I’m not sure why I haven’t listened to them before but I sure am now. Also, thanks to Rage, I got the chance to see them live which is something which would not have happened otherwise aside from going to a festival.

As great as the two support bands were (I’m not counting Roots Manuva), everyone was of course here for one band alone.

A few minutes around 9 in the evening, a video of an animated Simon Cowell was shown on the screens with a nice funny skit introducing the band.

Rage Against The Machine then came out on stage and immediately rocked the place out with Testify.

As expected, it got crazy real quick. We positioned ourselves right against the middle barrier so people were pushing behind us and we had to keep our hands on the barrier to avoid getting crushed.

The people in the front area had it worse though. People were flowing out of the front area like water since it got insane over there. The bouncers did an okay job handling the people but there were some instances were they where to rough in handling people trying to jump to the front area. There was even a girl who just collapsed on the floor having an asthma attack right in front of us.

During this time, we were watching these people more than the band onstage. Things eventually calmed down a bit (an understatement!) and we were able to watch Rage on stage and rock out to their songs.

They played most of their old songs from 3 albums, Rage Against The Machine, The Battle of Los Angeles, and Evil Empire. Not a single song from Renegades and I’m glad they didn’t.

Here’s the setlist for the evening.

• Testify
• Bombtrack
• People of the Sun
• Know Your Enemy
• Bulls On Parade
• Township Rebellion
• Bullet In The Head
• Guerilla Radio
• Sleep Now In The Fire
• Freedom
• Killing In The Name (encore)

When you think about it, 11 songs was really a short set but they more than made up for this with their intensity. This is my first time seeing Rage Against The Machine play live and they were in every way as I expected them to be. The energy, the crazy guitar riffs of Tom Morello, the rants of Zach against a number of things. Nothing has changed from seeing them on the videos all over the place. They are the exact same band they were almost 20 years ago which is rare and amazing.

The couple who started the campaign was invited on stage and presented a check of RATM’s earnings from the single which was then donated to their charity.

And then, there was more Rage. They left the stage after performing Freedom but without playing Killing In The Name, everyone knew they’d be back. After a few minutes, a video played on screen about the comments haters had against the campaign and eventually the numbers of the total singles sold.

Rage Against The Machine then came back on stage to perform Killing In The Name and insanity ensued once again for one last time.

It was an evening to remember and a dream come true. Another band ticked off my list and to top it off, it was a free event which is rare for me.

As for the weather, it was surprisingly decent despite the clouds, it drizzled for a bit before Gallows and then stopped. It then started again before RATM and thankfully stopped again.

Let’s just not talk about how we got home that evening. Actually, we got lucky but it was still insane.

A few days after seeing Broken Social Scene, it was time to see another Canadian indie group. This time, it was The New Pornographers at the now very familiar Electric Ballroom in Camden.

This evening, I decided to try something different.

I normally purchase a pint upon getting in which is almost always pretty early and a few minutes after the doors have opened. At this point, I could get a fairly good spot in the front but loose it due to a necessary toilet break after a support band plays. By this time, the venue would be quite packed.

This evening, I decided to not drink and instead went right in front, stood there with no word uttered, waiting for the support band to come up on stage already.

When I mentioned, right in front, I really did mean it as I was just next to the front barrier.

The support band came up on stage past 8 in the evening with what seemed to be one of the hottest bassist I’ve ever seen. Fairly tall, fit and with oh so pretty and long legs.

The band was Here We Go Magic who started a bit slow but quickly picked up and played with quite a bit of energy for a very endearing set. Their songs were quite upbeat and the music was a nice blend of the instruments they had. Do check their MySpace page for a sample of their music.

Once the stage was cleared, normally, roadies come up on stage to set up the main bands gear and equipment. This not the case this evening, as members of the band actually set up their own instruments and tuned them on stage which is pretty great for indie bands. You feel closer to these artists since they feel more like regular people than your next door rockstar and pop diva.

Then the lights dimmed once the stage was all set and clear of people. A few minutes later, the members of The New Pornographers were up on stage minus a few key members. No Dan Bejar nor Neko Case this evening but this didn’t hinder the chance of a truly amazing evening.

Started the evening with a new song, Up In The Dark, which was real upbeat and a great opening song. This was followed by one of my favourite songs, Use It.

Their setlist was an amazing mix of songs from all 5 albums and not once did they play a song from an album followed by another song from the same album. I surely hope that made sense, it is 4 in the morning. Most bands bunch up 2-3 old songs and then 2-3 new ones.

Here’s the full setlist courtesy of Setlist.fm.

• Up In The Dark
• Use It
• The Laws Have Changed
• Crash Years
• All The Old Showstoppers
• Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
• Challengers
• Testament To Youth In Verse
• Your Hands (Together)
• My Right Versus Yours
• My Shepard
• It’s Only Divine Right
• Mass Romantic
• Moves
• The Bleeding Heart Show
• From Blown Speakers
• Sing Me Spanish Techno

For most of the old songs, the album versions had a distinct Neko Case stamp on them but she was hardly missed as the very charming Kathryn Calder provided beautiful vocals for the female parts.

Of course, Carl Newman took on the lead for most parts of the evening with his superb voice and nifty guitar playing.

Aside from the ridiculously tight set, they sounded perfect on stage similar to Broken Social Scene. Every note, lyric, and beat was perfect. A really brilliant band to see live if you ever get the chance. You’ll be all smiles throughout their set.

Like Kevin of BSS, Carl and Kathryn talked quite a lot onstage. This turned out very amusing towards the end of the night when a girl with a “blood-curdling” scream was shouting Sing Me Spanish Techno which was the most appropriate song to close out the evening.

The New Pornographers will be playing again in London at O2 Empire, Shepherd’s Bush on December 9, 2010. I’d gladly go to see them again but I am planning something. Then again, I could work around this date as it would be a chance to have fun with The New Pornographers yet again. Who knows, Neko Case me be around next time.