Birds of Tokyo Review

By Kate Reid

Birds of Tokyo must have some fans out there. Either that or it was one of those “there to be seen” type events. Whatever the reason the crowd was well and truly present. Which was nice to see because it is always hard to pick which UniBar shows will sell out and which will only attract five drunk uni students and a bird that mistook the huge glass walls as just another patch of air to fly through.

If you had to sum up Calling All Cars in one word I guess a good starting point would be energetic. Running through the crowd, climbing amp stacks and jumping off drum kits were just a few of the exercises involved in the cardio intensive set. The music was just what the crowd needed, good, no nonsense rock, the kind that gets your heart beating just that little bit faster. While the stage theatrics may have been a little too over the top it didn’t matter because the guys did what they needed to do; grab the crowd’s attention and get them pumped and ready for Birds of Tokyo.

Opening their set with Tenacious D’s track Classico was a perfect choice. Take for example the line “If you think it’s time to f****** rock.” Well, that was exactly what Birds of Tokyo did and boy did they do it well. With a backdrop of a black and white motif and some amazing lighting they launched straight into the track Broken Bones from the new album Universes.

The audience reaction was nothing short of electric. They were no doubt amped up by not only the music but also the stage presence of front man Ian Kenny. Noting that the crowd were some of the “most lively f****** I’ve come across” it seemed that he was enjoying the UniBar crowd just as much as they were enjoying him. With a killer set of lungs and a dance style that could best be described as a random combination of a dinosaur and a chicken Kenny was never at risk of losing this crowd’s attention. Older tracks such as Black Sheets, Desperate and Wayside mixed with new tracks including Head in My Hands and White Witch making the set a perfect combination for those at all stages of the fan timeline.

And so it came, way too soon might I add, the final song of the set. Closing with the hit single Silhouettic the guys certainly left the best till last. The floor copped a hiding with the crowd jumping in unison as a few crowd surfers taunted security. With the applause almost deafening it’s safe to say the crowd loved it. If that wasn’t convincing enough all you had to do was check out the fogged up windows.