NEWS
EVENTS
The Joy Formidable @ Paradiso, Amsterdam
Indie | Thursday 21st February 2013 | Becca
The city: Amsterdam. The venue: Paradiso. The band: The Joy Formidable.
Playing here as they have been touring their new album, Wolf’s Law, as soon as we entered inside, the atmosphere is palpable. There is always something so tantalisingly refreshing, about seeing a band play in a foreign city. You are a stranger in the crowd - like any gig, but this time, you are the foreign stranger in the crowd.
The lights go down, and as soon as the welsh threesome enter the stage, the atmosphere changes. This Amsterdam crowd are clearly very excited to see them, and you can tell the members of the band feed off’ this massively. On lead guitar and vocals, Ritzy Bryan, on bass Rhydian Dafydd, and drums, Justin Stahley. On to the stage, errupt the three members of the band, to the punchy sound of the second track on Wolf’s Law, ‘Cholla’.
As soon as the delicate, distinctive intro to ‘This Ladder Is Ours’ began to be played, the crowd began cheering and shouting as everyone knew what was coming. As this is the band’s second biggest hit, it received a huge reaction.
Ritzy Bryan, the band’s lead singer,with short blonde hair, almost pixie like as she leaps around the stage, is a lot of fun to watch. Her vocals are unfaulted, sounding exactly as she does on the band’s records. Rhydian Dafydd’s heart-pounding bass lines were just like what we hear, when we hear the band’s records. When watching Dafydd perform, it is extremely clear that even after all this time he is enjoying what he is doing, whether it’s playing to a 500 capacity venue like Paradiso or 30,000 at Glastonbury, he is having a great deal of fun.
After playing an energetic set of 12 songs, the band left the stage, to then inevitably return for a 3 song encore. The last song the band played was ‘Whirring’, the biggest hit from their previous album, The Big Roar. You could tell it’s the biggest hit just from the crowd’s reaction, then the huge smile’s on Bryan, Dafydd’s ,and Stahley’s faces.
The best way to sum up their music is this; indie music, for head bangers - as my neck was definitely aching after seeing this band live. If you enjoy bands like Paramore and Passion Pit, then go see these guys. The band hit British shores this month, and are playing 11 dates round the U.K., starting with a support slot at Bloc Party’s gig on 22nd February at Earls Court. No excuse not to catch them at one of their dates!
The band’s latest album ‘Wolf’s Law’, is out now and available to purchase from most major outlets. Listen to 'Whirring' here.
Becca
