Aiden live at the Astoria
Lights flashing, dramatic music and on they come…Aiden. The method in which they captivated the crowd into a frenzy was impressive. Begin acoustic and build up anxiousness and the crowd are able to relax, take in the music then BANG hit them fast and hard.
The Astoria was the proud venue for Aiden to play on their recent tour and they gave 110% throughout. Energy was buzzing, the balcony wobbling and the crowd bustling to see the wild side of this band. The microphone was thrown around like a football, the guitar twisting and hopefully no one on stage went home with a black eye or broken bones…but hey that’s the rock star lifestyle right?
The fans were already hyped up from support act Kill Hannah and seeing Aiden on stage seemed to push them over the edge. If they were not already nuts and extremely overexcited then the band singing ‘Bliss’ was enough to comatose the audience. From the intense ‘We Sleep Forever’ to the Smiths cover ‘There’s A Little Light That Never Goes Out’ the band pushed their energies and excited manner over the crowd. They gave the audience a heavy mix of alternative rock for most of the tracks, ‘I Set My Friends On Fire’ showed a darker side of the band, but at the same time, lead singer Wil Francis took guitar for a softer handle on one track. One thing I could not seem to get over was the impressive movement from the bands top man. While singing away Wil moved with such grace and rhythm that Strictly Come Dancing would be glad to have him.
Effects while performing were a little complicated. You see, while singing and bounding around, the lights were flashing to a degree that if anyone looked at them head on, may have permanent retinal damage. A couple of the fans standing in front of me actually tuned away to shield their eyes from lights brighter than the sun. Lights also played a part in the difficulty the crowd had to make out the band while on stage. With the flashing lights it made it difficult for individuals like myself standing on the balcony to make out the figures on the stage; for many songs there were only silhouettes without faces.
One thing that really impressed me was the interaction between band and audience. They took it upon themselves to not only explain meanings behind songs, ‘I Set My Friends On Fire’ for example is about friends stabbing you in the back, but show real appreciation for the support the band have gained over the last few years, Wil stated he can see passion and love within the eyes of the crowd making his dreams come true, and that the music in their hearts doesn’t come from the stage but from the fans in the crowd. Its things like this that make an admirer of the music feel more appreciated by the band.
This was a wonderful performance from one of the most entertaining and thankful bands around.