By Adam Hamza
We have always had a special place in in our hearts for Lower Than Atlantis. We come from the same area as the Watford band, so we have watched them grow throughout their different stages, from the small local band playing venues like The Horn, right up to their recent success playing this weekend on the main stage at Reading and Leeds festival.
We went to see LTA play O2 Academy with support from Strange bones and Milk Teeth, the gig was set up as a warm up gig before they take to one of their biggest gigs yet at Reading two days later.
Punk rock band, Strange Bones Kicked off the gig to get everyone into the mood for what was to come. The Blackpool band played their song ‘God Save the Teen’, giving the crowd a taste of what they could expect if they came to see them at Reading and Leeds Festival.
Second up came Milk Teeth, they had a great energy about them, especially with fan favourite ‘Brain Food’. They got the crowd to liven up “We give you permission to go crazy”. “I wanna see you head banging and jumping!’ this gave the crowd all it needed to let loose and enjoy the set.
The music they played was brilliant, real punk tunes with an addictive sound. Front Woman Becky Blomfield said she saw Lower than Atlantis Live, before Milk Teeth even formed.
Lower Than Atlantis entered the stage at 9:30, dimmed lights and dramatic music was met with a cheering and hooting crowd hanging off their every move.
The first song powered on, ‘get over it’, a song with enough pace and easy lyrics to make even the newest fan feel part of the action.
After a couple of songs, Mike Duce stopped the gig to wish a girl a Happy Birthday – a girl called Emily. You can guess what happened next. LTA started playing ‘Emily’, a song without its controversy, but an excellent sing-along rock song never the less. And the crowd loved it.
“I have three things for you” Announced Duce, “We have just released our new single ‘Work For it’” “I want everyone here to be singing the words” “and I want you all to make room, and start running in a circle!” And with that the most organised mosh pit I’ve ever seen formed.
‘Work For it’, has only just been released, but I can already see it has the potential to be an epic live song. The chorus is catchy and almost encourages a mosh pit.
After a few more songs, they ended the set on ‘Here We Go’ a song that for many would have been the first Lower Than Atlantis song they heard. This song gained immense popularity for the band after getting massive exposure on Radio 1, and it’s stuck as a fan favourite ever since.
All three Bands will be playing Reading and Leeds this weekend. Strange Bones will be playing the Jack Rocks on Saturday, the lock up on Friday at Leeds and the Lock Up Stage on Sunday at Reading. Milk Teeth will be playing The Pit on Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds.
Lower Than Atlantis are amazing live, they are a must see if you are a rock fan, or just love to have a great time! You can catch them on the Main Stage at Reading on Friday and Leeds on Saturday.
