Billy Talent - Live at Brixton Academy (Live Review: Dan)

Last night I saw Billy Talent for the 4th time, and this was the first time it was one of their headline shows.
After a few mess ups on my part regarding the train tickets we eventually arrived at Brixton Academy as the doors were opened. We got in and headed down towards the front, past the mental rail in the middle of the dreadful sloped floor. Pretty soon Canterbury took to the stage. Matt and I have seen this band before, playing somewhere with All Forgotten. I had forgotten how young they all are, I'd probably say they are all around 17 or 18 years old. I think for them to be playing infront of a crowd at Brixton is fantastic at their age, and I felt a little bit jealous. Canterbury actuall put on a really decent show. They weren't brilliant performers but they played their songs well. In any case, it was a nice start to the show.

We were then greeted by the most awful human being on earth. He was probably about 16, but he was pretty big. A lot taller than I am, and pretty chunky too. He was wearing an iron maiden jacket with no sleeves, on top of a black tank top. He already looked like a loser, but it wasn't before Cancer Bats came on stage that he sealed his position as worst person ever.
Speaking of Cancer Bats, they're pretty awful people too. The guitarist looked like a Viking, and the singer was just awful. He had a horrible speaking voice and an even worse "singing" voice. He also had a shit haircut. It's essentially just a mohawk...but not glued. His presence reminded me of Bert McCracken of the Used, in that he was very greasy and slimy.
In terms of their music, I hated it. But I reckon they were probably quite good. I bet their fans loved it, and their wanker of a frontman actually looked like he did his job quite well. The worst person ever, mentioned earlier, liked them though. In support of this he kept raising his fist in the air. That's when it hit us; the stench. Everytime he raised his arm he unleashed the worst B.O smell ever. I think I almost collapsed at one point. I also decided to watch him for a while when he ran like an excited child (which I suppose he sort of was) into a mosh pit. He was throwing his weight around and just bouncing off people. At a point, someone fell down. He looked really angry when people were helping the guy up, and his face said 'why are you helping him? the aim is to kill him'. But anyway, Cancer Bats got through their set and we moved away from him.

After a fairly drawn out moment while we waited for the main event, Billy Talent emerged from backstage. They eased into The Dead Can't Testify from the new album. I thought this was a poor choice for an opening song, simply because it's pretty new and it isn't a single, so there weren't a huge number of fans familiar with it. Then they went straight into Devil in a Midnight Mass, which should have been their opener. The crowd were loving it, and at this point the show really began. Their set is full of brilliant songs, and I forget every time I think about them just how many good songs they have. It was a set full of energy and frontman Ben loves the crowd. Highlight of the show is new single Devil on My Shoulder, which was one of the best live songs I've ever seen. After they end the show on popular single Red Flag, everyone slowly emerges from the venue, with a big grin.
Eventually we made it home. Then my car broke.
A solid 4/5 evening.