LIVE REVIEW: As It Is @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

We headed to the final date of AS IT IS’ The Great Depression Tour at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town to catch the band tear up the 2,500 capacity venue in spectacular fashion.

First to grace the stage are Canadian three-piece COURAGE MY LOVE. Fronted by the bubble of energy that is Mercedes Arnhorn, the group are seemingly humbled by the already huge crowd that amasses before them. Bounding all over the stage, they fill the entire space with ease. Their set is well received and there’s a few die-hard fans on the front row who choose to get more involved; yes, there’s crowd surfers for the opening support. Brilliant.

Rating: 7/10

HOLDING ABSENCE have done a lot for themselves in the past year – touring with BEING AS AN OCEAN, the This Is As One split EP with LOATHE and now this, the largest indoor venue show of their careers so far. They open with yet to be released track Perish which is politely received but it’s the remaining five songs that have the biggest impact on the crowd. Whilst waiting in the photopit we overhear that the venue security are already pushing the mid-forties on the number of crowd surfers. HOLDING ABSENCE are sure to push that further. Winter flu/plague/general strep makes vocalist Lucas Woodland’s job infinitely more difficult though he’s helped out by an audience that makes tracks Dream of Me, Everything, and set-closer Penance a cacophony of voices and outpouring of love for the Welsh five-piece.

Rating: 8/10

TRASH BOAT push venue security to the edge. As pop punk titans popular on the Warped/Slam Dunk circuits, we were treated to catchy choruses, plenty of hardcore finger pointing and actual circle pits. Vocalist Tobi Duncan hits the nail on the head and delivers on every track from the recent singles Shade and Inside Out to crowd favourite Tring Quarry. Sweaty, fun and fast is perhaps the best way to describe their belter of a set which sets the stage, and the crowd – for the headliner.

Rating: 8/10

AS IT IS have come on leaps and bound since their 2012 inception and even since their 2015 debut LP. Visually at least they’re no longer snapbacks and skinny jeans but instead eyeshadow, makeup and suits. It’s a change – and that’s the point; their sound isn’t altogether completely different from where they started however it feels as though there’s more of a serious aspect behind their music following their most recent album The Great Depression. Opening with The Reaper (featuring Tobi Duncan of TRASH BOAT), Patty Walters leads the venue through an hour long set of ups, downs, overs and unders. During said hour, the edge that had been set previously for crowd surfers and security is broken; unofficially a world record was made of around 300 people passing over the barrier during the bands time on stage, bringing the grand total to somewhere around the 600 mark for all four bands. Closing with an encore of Dial Tones, The Wounded World and The Stigma, AS IT IS close off their Great Depression Tour with a special and memorable night.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Rhys Haberfield Media here: