Halocene VIP

It’s been a long time (as in, 10-15 years) since I last went to a gig, but last night we went to see Halocene playing a support slot at the Engine Rooms, following their festival appearance at Download. It’s not every day that an unsigned band from Tennessee makes it over to Southampton.

We paid extra for VIP tickets (more than the tickets actually), which were supposed to involve a meet and greet before the show. We were told to turn up at 6 (an hour before doors), so got there about 5:45, only to be left standing outside – and wondering whether we were in the right place – until about 6:30, when the small queue in front of us finally started moving.

Then someone came over and called my name out and took us to one side. He explained that we wouldn’t have the usual meet and greet experience, because we were the only two who’d purchased VIP tickets for this show, so instead he took us over to the band’s tour bus, where we got to sit and chat with Brad and Addie (a short conversation, but covering music we like, things to do in Southampton, and the differences between ducks and geese). Then we got given our exclusive VIP t-shirts and a photo opportunity outside:

I wished afterwards that I’d asked for a photo in the van, but never mind. We were escorted into the venue to wait for the show.

It was a bit of a wait, but when they finally took the stage they blasted through ‘Just Won’t Die’ followed by a cover of ‘Killing In The Name’ – where Addie had the crowd singing along, ironically doing just what she asked. The set was mostly originals, including ‘Repent’, ‘This Is Our War’ (my partner’s favourite), and ‘Maleficent’ though, sadly, they didn’t do ‘Devil Inside Me’ (which is one of my favourites).

They did throw some other covers: ‘Unholy’, ‘The Kill (Bury Me)’ (which was largely Addie solo) and then finished the set with ‘Chop Suey’ during which Addie got down into the crowd.

It was a shorter set than I’d like, since they were only the support act for the night (with Atreyu headlining). They’re playing their own headline show in Brighton tonight, but sadly that’s a bit too far, especially given that I’m off to a conference tomorrow while my partner has exam boards to deal with.

Perhaps one day we’ll get another chance to see them in person but, until then, I guess we’ll have to stick to their regular streams.

Edit: This video is a similar set from the same tour.