TURNSTILE | LIVE REVIEW
The Globe, Cardiff, Tue 23 Oct
One of the best hardcore shows in recent memory occurred last time Turnstile hit Cardiff and having torn the place apart last time around, the Maryland group return to the Globe once more to finish the job. Before the chaos ensues though, we are treated to support act Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. I’m not really in the business of slating band/artists, but whatever this is, it is utterly dreadful.
Compromising a DJ and vocalist, Wicca Phase can only be described as emo hip-hop and in my 28 years of going to gigs, I’ve never come across a worse act. I’m all for diversity in the hardcore scene and bringing new elements in, but this was a step too far. It’s so bad you that you feel like you are waiting for a punchline that ultimately doesn’t arrive. I realise it’s a fish out of water scenario – and, to be fair, there were a handful of people enjoying it – but even in their own environment Wicca Phase surely can’t be taken seriously.
With 90% of the crowd on a downer after that, it’s up to Turnstile to up the ante. Which is just fine, as that’s what they are about. Flanked by a very DIY backdrop, the most energetic band in hardcore hit the stage with spin kicks and jumps and the crowd duly respond. A heaving mass of sweating humanity opens up the pit as the band pound through favourites including Big Smile, Gravity and Real Thing. Singer Brendan Yates, who has a lot more hair than on his last visit to Cardiff, scales the PA system several times, even front flipping off it into the crowd at one point.
There’s very little between-song banter, the band preferring to keep the energy in the room at maximum as they pound through Out Of Rage – which ignites the biggest pit of the night – and Keep It Moving. Bassist Franz Lyons steps up to finish the set with Moon and, just like that, it’s over. No encores needed here. An exhausted crowd filter out into the Cardiff evening to the haunting tones of The Carpenters’ The End Of The World, having just witnessed one of the best bands hardcore has to offer.
words CHRIS ANDREWS