LIVE REVIEW: We Came As Romans @ Thekla, Bristol

The uncertainty surrounding the future of Thekla, Bristol’s famous boat converted into a gig venue, is still ongoing, but the shows continue to roll in and tonight it’s the turn of melodic hardcore darlings WE CAME AS ROMANS, who are a million miles away from the outfit that would be regularly seen on the undercard of the Impericion Never Say Die! tours and are now selling out shows under their own steam, much like the one this evening which is never a bad thing for a Thursday night. Time to rock the boat, so to speak…

Opening act THE PLOT IN YOU take to the stage at 6:30pm because of an early doors time but they still have a good number of punters in front of them, among them a handful of spectators singing every single word back at them. There’s a lot of this sort of music around at the moment but the Americans are certainly at the better end of the spectrum, with Take Me Away and Feel Nothing garnering good receptions and showing that whilst they’re not going to set the world on fire, they’ll definitely make it smoulder and spark.

Rating: 7/10

The floor has swelled in numbers considerably for the arrival of POLARIS, who have made the long trip across the world from their native Sydney and it makes for a raucous and captivating set. The energy rises as the first pits of the evening open up and the Australians are revelling in it, particularly frontman Jamie Hails who is on blistering form tonight, covering every inch of the stage and making sure that everyone is involved in one way or another. Elsewhere, guitarists Ryan Siew and Rick Schneider trade licks and riffs with ease and panache while Jake Steinhauser and Daniel Furnari keep things tight at the back on bass and drums respectively. It’s accomplished, confident and the set of the night.

Rating: 8/10

In keeping with the theme, Germany’s ALAZKA are doing everything they can to keep the momentum going, interacting with the audience as much as possible and vocalist Kassim Auale taking his opportunity to crowdsurf early on. The punters respond as well, which just about saves the band tonight because outside of this they’re lacking in power and punch. Their atmospheric elements add an edge to their sound but there’s no peak; the songs build but fizzle out without any big moment or breakdown. It leaves a lot to be desired from them and whereas THE PLOT IN YOU might be at the better end of the melodic hardcore scale, ALAZKA on tonight’s basis are very much down the other.

Rating: 5/10

For WE CAME AS ROMANS, a packed house is very much deserved and although they don’t quite reach the heights of POLARIS from earlier on, they ensure smiles all round by delivering a composed performance, injecting a real party atmosphere that’s lapped up by a rabid audience. The likes of Wasted Age with its truly filthy breakdown and the huge chorus in Fade Away reverberate around the venue superbly and the showmanship from the band is very impressive indeed. The big moment is Encoder, preceded by a wicked drum and bass-esque interlude that segues beautifully into the track and takes the energy past fever pitch. The set is rather short at eleven songs and less than an hour, but as Tracing Back Roots and Hope round off proceedings with aplomb, it pales into a more minor criticism for the night. WE CAME AS ROMANS have indeed come, seen and conquered tonight in Bristol.

Rating: 7/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Serena Hill Photography here: