Takedown: Review

Southampton University was home on Saturday to the alternative event of the year in the city, and with some glorious sunshine it couldn’t have been a better day for it. Southampton already has a strong rock and metal scene catering to all genres across multiple venues, and it was great to see everyone come together for Takedown Festival. When I first arrived there was a huge queue and I was wondering if everyone was going to get in before the first acts were on, but all the staff and crew were helpful, friendly and worked as quickly as possible and I didn’t hear any complaints from those who had been waiting. I was momentarily confused as to where a couple of stages were, before I realised the Uprawr Stage was in what is usually called ‘The Cube’ and the Southampton Local stage was located in the bar area just outside. Other than that the event was very smoothly run, Hacktivist unfortunately couldn’t make their timeslot and were moved to a later time which was disappointing for those wanting to see them but you really can’t blame the crew for that. 

I spend as much time as possible at gigs so choosing which bands to see was brain achingly difficult, especially as the line-up was so strong and I knew how good the bands all were. The Catharsis, a metal core quintet from  Birmingham were up first  on the Uprawr Stage, with a decent crowd for a 2.15pm slot including fans I’d seen at previous shows and the singer from Zoax. They played their well-known tracks like Stray Dogs as well as new single Natural Decline which went down well, and caused some movement in the pit. As always they played with energy and passion, The Catharsis are not a band who ever let up. From that stage I went to the Total Rock stage to catch the last of VooDoo Vegas, and I immediately wished I’d seen it all. They are very much what I imagine when you say classic rock and they were an excellent choice to precede Western Sand. 

Western Sand themselves nailed it, and with the sunshine streaming through the windows you could have believed they were straight out of the Southern States. The Howling followed and I stayed to watch as they came highly recommended by a friend. On appearance they looked like L.A./Hollywood types and I was a bit sceptical but looks are deceiving, they know how to play and how to play well! They delivered a high octane performance that most definitely took away any doubts I had and has left me wanting to see them again.

I have just one bone to pick with the Total Rock stage, the sound created by all the bands playing that day was just too big for the room they had, so the quality was a little lacking. The logic behind the placement of stages and bands was evident and well organised, the Total Rock stage would not have been suitable for say metal-core purely because there just wasn’t the space to move around, was just a shame the sound wasn’t a bit better. 

For a total change of pace I visited the Big Deal Clothing stage for a recent favourite of mine, Zoax. I’ve previously seen them at Camden Rocks with about 5 other people in the audience, and this time it was great to see so many people showing their support. Adam is much more than just a vocalist, he’s a true entertainer, he always has to interact with the crowd and climb on everything which included trying to get into the roof via a ceiling tile on Saturday. When he jumped onto the booth behind me I had to agree with his comment that it was indeed “fucking tremendous” to see so many people.

From one favourite to another, Jettblack were my next stop where I was at the barrier as I have been the last twenty times I’ve seen them. At this point it might be fair to say I’m bias but it was great to hear a few of the classic Jettblack anthems as well as a couple of new tracks from their potential third album (it won’t happen if they can’t meet their pledge music target) and to see the room packed out for them. Despite my love for Jettblack, I think the day was owned well and truly by Heaven’s Basement. I hadn’t seen them since they played Sonisphere in 2011 and how they’ve progressed since then is phenomenal.  They are currently on their Welcome Home Tour having been in the States and Australia, and despite being ill and rundown they absolutely killed it and had the crowd wishing they could play longer. 

All in all I don’t think anyone could deny that they had a superb day. Takedown 2014 was an absolute blast and I’m already looking forward to next year, I’m sure the wonderful team will find a way to make it even bigger and better!