LIVE REVIEW: Neck Deep @ The Key Club, Leeds
Ten years on from their first release as a band, Rain In July, the anniversary tour from NECK DEEP received three extra dates to the original run of four shows, with this leg kicking off at The Key Club in Leeds. With the queue winding around the block, there was little doubt in people’s minds that this show was going to be special. The Key Club only hosts a 200 person capacity; it was easy to see it filling up without difficulty. Oddly enough, NECK DEEP ran this three-date mini-tour with no supporting acts, meaning the filled room stood for a little while after the doors opened. The DJs playlist kept people happy though, with pop-punk staples that’d be commonplace on a Friday rock club night, but this was a SUNDAY. A SUNDAY.
When NECK DEEP eventually joined the masses, screams erupt as the push-pit starts. “10 years of Rain In July, baby!” yelled vocalist Ben Barlow, with the audience already getting excited. The 10 Years Of Rain In July Tour promised the entire EP in full so, where to start but Kick It?. It was at this point, the intimacy of The Key Club really became overly apparent. Barely into the first chorus — bodies flew, crowdsurfers’ limbs swung about and everybody pushed to get closer to the front. Pop-punk gigs never fail to impress. For a record that’s now ten years old, the involvement from the audience was impressive – vocalist Ben barely needed to sing a word as the crowd had all bases covered. Pushing the mic down into the faces of those below, the audience was subjected to an amalgam of voices all screaming the same words – testament really to how well Rain In July has aged; it’s still super popular.
The first half of the set sees EPs Rain In July and A History Of Bad Decisions performed in full, with major crowd-participation moments in What Did You Expect and I Couldn’t Wait To Leave Six Months Ago setting the tone for the whole night: utter bedlam. Up In Smoke is interrupted by an apparently faulty fire alarm: cue the puns.
Seemingly everyone in the room wants to get involved so, whilst only a 200-cap venue, The Key Club becomes a sea of bodies. Perhaps the rowdiest track of the set; All Hype, No Heart sees Ben surfing into the crowd and carried around like a king. After eventually finding his way back to the stage, he swapped mic for guitar with Matt West, who brought the chuggy-version of the “almost-a-hardcore” track to a close. Smiles; smiles everywhere.
Mixing things up, songs from A History Of Bad Decisions followed with Ben giving the crowd some conversation and insight into Head To The Ground before the fan- favourite A Part Of Me is brought out. These songs still go hard, and will always have a place at NECK DEEP’s shows. “Oh no, the show’s over!”, joked the band pre-encore; prompting the crowd to scream “we want more, we want more!” (eventually moving onto chants of “Yorkshire, Yorkshire”)
It’s modern track time, Motion Sickness, Gold Steps and STFU represent the releases between NECK DEEP’s most recent releases before finishing on their most-viewed YouTube single, an potentially their breakout success: In Bloom.
It’s maddening to think that this band will be playing a sold-out Alexandra Palace in only a few months time, but these intimate shows have proved that NECK DEEP are, and forever will be, an audience favourite. The ‘older’ material, if it can even be called that, received the greatest response from the crowd at The Key Club and, whilst Ally Pally is sure to be “a classictm”, crowd surfing and small community venues bring the best energy NECK DEEP could ask for.
No matter how far they go, or where they perform, their roots are strong – NECK DEEP successfully made it feel like 2013 again, and honestly, we’re here for it.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Leeds from Rhys Haberfield Media here:
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