Therapy? at Islington Academy
Therapy? – Islington Academy – 5 May 2009
Words by Brendan Monteiro / photo’s by Marcus Maschwitz
Bands come and go in today’s lively music scene faster than BT’s latest broadband package. But it’s those rare ensembles that stand the test of time, and the cutthroat industry they submerge themselves in, that are a genuine pleasure to experience live. It’s an added comfort to be in the presence of an older gathering rather than the younger crowds. They are all here for the music, which is obvious in the amount of merchandise displayed on the fans.
The band really gel together as a unit and churn out song after song with ease from a healthy back catalogue spanning 12 albums. Neil Cooper launches assault after assault upon his kit during every song. A reasonable amount of the set list comprises of B-sides but pretty much everyone in the room seems well versed in them. It however astonishes me that after 20 years in the business, that these guys still put together such an energetic set. The level of liveliness probably matches those early days when they first came together. This just cements the fact that they are undoubtedly one of the hardest working bands in the game. As the night charges on you can see Andy and Michael feeding off the energy of the crowd, all this explodes during ‘Summer of Hate’, ‘Potato Junkie’ and ‘Teethgrinder’. It’s particularly cool during ‘Screamager’ when even a couple of ‘old timers’ are seen rushing the pit. Unfortunately there seems to always be one clown at a gig but Andy definitely handled it best by cutting the misfit short and declaring that “So what if I am a fat bastard, I am a happy fat bastard and I am happy with myself. If you want to watch someone thin then go watch Pop Idols you cunt”. This totally summarises their attitude, they don’t care if you don’t like them, they have been around the block too many times to start caring about crap. And all they want to do is have a rocking good time which we were happy to share with them. Therapy? has and is standing the test of time.
May 12th, 2009
[...] – My photographs have been used in a review of the Therapy? show and you can check it out HERE Tagged: Andy Cairns, Islington Academy, [...]