![]() Tracks from their most recent album, Sticky, such as ‘Cupid’s Arrow’, ‘My Town’ or ‘Go Get A Tattoo’ were belted out for our listening pleasure, but it was evident the band were also enjoying themselves – it didn’t feel like just another night on tour. This energy was only upgraded by the audience’s collective joy of seeing the band live, screaming their songs in unison. live they are enthusiastic and humble, some way off from the kind of rockers who just look like they are going through the motionsĭespite his roguish side, Carter’s antics gave the gig a communal feeling. That is his stage persona, though, and perhaps he is the best-placed person to ensure the audience are safely enjoying themselves. Carter’s own involvement in the pits, pointing out people who should be taken out or trying to get involved himself, felt like an over-extension of his responsibilities and distracted from why most of us were there. Really, it is an attempt at mitigation and nothing more. It sets a positive standard, although if one mosh pit is for women the others are still predominantly for men. For one gentleman who ended up somewhere he was not supposed to be, the telling off from Carter – “This is not your moment, this is not your fucking song” – probably won’t be forgotten anytime soon, and it’s good to know he sticks to his word. In recognition of the danger mosh pits can hold, especially for women, it is a tradition at FC&TR gigs to start a female-and-non-binary only mosh pit when ‘Wild Flowers’ is played, enforced by Frank Carter himself. They encourage it in the kind of way I might ask a seminar group if they have any questions after a presentation asking for something you shouldn’t really have to ask for. ![]() Presiding over such throngs is one result of the music that many artists are often proud of. Speaking of absorbing shock, even though only a small proportion of the audience actually took part it would be a mistake not to mention the moshing, a characteristic element of this band’s gigs. ![]() On a more physical level we were the shock absorbers for both the Rattlesnakes’ sound and Carter’s crowd surfing attempts. ![]() In verbal terms we were the foils to his ad-libs, the source of jokes and material that he could comment upon and, yes, swear at. Carter gets the audience involved, and nothing is off-limits. To attend a Rattlesnakes gig is something more than just an audio-visual experience. It didn’t stop him crowd surfing either: “I fractured my fucking elbow, but I didn’t fracture my fucking vocal cords, the show must go on!”. Despite having a fractured elbow (surely an injury sustained during a previous night of tour) his energy wasn’t curtailed or re-directed. It’s where he belongs, and this show was proof of that. ![]() But their gigs aren’t all about making lots of harsh noise or getting crushed by strangers in a mosh-pit – although there was a fair bit of that in Birmingham’s O2 Academy.Ĭarter is an artist who comes into his own on stage. This band is a prime example of the fact that punk rock is a genre built as much on performance as it is on sound. O2 Academy Birmingham, Friday 19th Novemberįrank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are one of those bands whose recorded music just doesn’t do them justice – songs like ‘Lullaby’ are meant to be roared in front of teeming crowds. ![]()
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