The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Scholars at The Barfly

Scholars at The Barfly | Live review
11 April 2013
Gemma Whitfield
Avatar
Gemma Whitfield
11 April 2013

Celebrating the release of their debut album Always Lead, Never Follow, the Scholars boys are set to tear the roof off The Barfly on the night of 9th April. Located in trendy Camden, the venue is known for its support for alternative acts and its intimate stage setting. Inside, a large crowd of rocker kids are gathered under the dim lights eagerly awaiting the performance and showing their approval for support acts Trails and Everything I. The semi-screamo band put on a fantastic warm-up, despite missing their lead vocalist. They were helped out by a small group of fan-girls who shouted the lyrics with high enthusiasm.

Suddenly and dramatically the lights went down, and a recording of Charlie Chaplin’s iconic speech A Message For Mankind blares. Chaplin vehemently declared “You are not cattle, you are men!” – a theme which foreshadows the band’s motto “Never follow”. 

Vocalist Sam Nicholls stormed onto the stage, opening the set with the popular post-punk track Hydrochasein, which was greeted by audience members singing along to the catchy lyrics: “sweet lines, sweet lines”. Full of energy, front-man Nicholls leaned over the crowd and animatedly sang to fans, inches from their faces. By this point, every hand was either waving along or fist pumping. The break in Black and Blue inspired a full force mosh-pit, with guitarists Cal and Ethan Owen circle head-banging, the pulse from their heavy riffs shaking the walls of the humble venue. Damage was certainly a crowd pleaser, with youths dancing uncontrollably as Nicholls shouted “Behold the black death!”

The five-piece, who take their musical influences from the likes of At The Drive-In, make for an authentic post-hardcore band and bear strong resemblances with Billy Talent and Taking Back Sunday, but with more of an electro feel. Their highly energised performance tonight almost brought the Barfly crumbling to the ground, and the crowd clearly agreed: Scholars’ shows are not to be missed.

★★★★★

Gemma Whitfield
Photos: Bartek Odias

 For further information and future events visit Scholars’ website here.

Watch the video for Black and Blue here: 

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Weezer with the LA Philharmonic and YOLA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online

★★★★★
Mark Worgan
Read More

Bat for Lashes Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Barker-Turner Overdrive: An Evening of Duets at the Tunbridge Wells Forum Online

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Ben Howard: Global Transmission from Goonhilly Earth Station live stream

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

The Sherlocks at Sheffield City Hall Online

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

The Snuts at Stirling Castle Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Valley Maker – When the Day Leaves Livestream

★★★★★
Jasper Watkins
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Cruise – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Portal
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • A Splinter of Ice at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Motherhood Project: An interview with creator and curator Katherine Kotz
    Theatre
  • The Mitchells vs the Machines
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Shadow and Bone
    ★★★★★
    netflix
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Digital signage: A new trend in communication
    Tech & Sport
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Campfire in Kings Cross: Two Tribes deliver everything you’ve been missing with a night of beer, BBQ and live music
    Food & Drinks
  • Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Secret Connection – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Rebellion (L’Ordre et la Morale) | Movie review
Karin Park at The Lexington | Live review