Collateral
Leo’s Red Lion, Gravesend
Live review by; Jazmin
After 7 hellish months of the pandemic’s lockdown, our hearts and ear holes had been clinging on by a thread, devoid of the treasure that is live music. Our stereos have been begging us over and over again to stop attacking the volume button as we’ve been too stubborn to admit that it won’t go any higher, screaming ‘it’s just not the same!’ between snotty sobs into the faces of our concerned family members.
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No one was more relieved to be liberated from the torture of deafening silence than hard rock band Collateral. Since having their support slot accompanying Skid Row on a world tour mercilessly postponed by the virus, the guys were finally able to bask in the sweat of blinding hot lights and welcome the threat of ruptured eardrums once again on the stage of Leo’s Red Lion, Gravesend.
Many questions were raised in the anxious mind regarding the post-Covid atmosphere; do I have to bring a mask? Am I allowed to sing-along? How much head banging space am I allowed to allocate myself? Any and all doubts about a post-apocalyptic vacant show were rapidly laid to rest. The Saturday night marked the closing show of a 2 date sold-out run at the venue in which it was advertised that only a certain amount of tickets would be sold in order to adhere to social distancing measures, which ‘of course’ were complied with.
Before that weekend, Collateral were a band of 4 brothers; now the wild western-styled gun-slingers are an ambitious troop of 6 outlaws having added keyboardist Rob Fenning and rhythm guitarist Louis Malagodi to their ranks. The undersized stage could barely contain the energies emitting from the pent-up anticipation as Fenning, Malagodi, vocalist Angelo Tristan, guitarist Todd Winger, bassist Jack Bentley-Smith and drummer Ben Atkinson charged into the night with larger than life tunes Won’t Stop Me Dreaming, Promiseland, and Midnight Queen. With an infectious smile beaming across his face that was more contagious than Covid, Tristan’s Jon Bon Jovi influenced frontmanship came into play, white microphone stand and spirit hands included. As the 60 bodied crowd sang back the anthemic choruses and raised devil-horns to the prominently adrenaline pumping guitar-solos from Winger, childlike wonder spread across the bands facial expressions as they lapped up the much-missed taste of stardom.
With the addition of keys and rhythm thrown in with the already present lead electric and acoustic guitars, Collateral’s sound isn’t sustainable in the confinement of small local pubs and instead belongs to that of O2’s Brixton Academy or Camden’s Round House. Playing through the entirety of their debut self-titled record, every track from the band is their equivalent to Don’t Stop Believin’, Pour Some Sugar On Me, and Livin’ On A Prayer, none more so than Mr Big Shot, which was emblazoned on a denim jacket adorning the kick drum, in case you’d forgotten. The set list was also sprinkled with Going With The Wind, Just Waiting for You and Angels Crying from their debut EP 4 Shots.
The night was bittersweet in all aspects, including a heart-warming moment in which the band presented a young girl with a guitar Winger had been playing mid-way through their set, speechless as the overwhelming emotions cascaded down her tear stricken cheeks. If that gesture wasn’t moving enough, the tribute in which Tristan paid to the loss of his girlfriend’s mother in the form of a Hallelujah cover sets the bar high for anyone else’s significant other. This was also a moment in which Fenning could display the exceptional piano skills that earned him the nickname ‘fast fingers’, complimenting Tristan’s poignant and heart-wrenching rendition whilst they ignored the prying eyes of many and sang instead towards the heavens, making us feel awkward in involuntarily violating a private soliloquy with the afterlife.
Treating themselves and the fans to a brand new song, Hold Me Down gives us a teaser of what sounds shall emerge from their follow-up album that’s currently in the works with high expectations on the horizon. The only noticeable hiccups amidst the group’s performance were a few muddled up lyrics whereby Tristan began About This Boy with the second verse, clearly frustrated with himself.
Predicted mishaps aside, Collateral are heaven sent rock n’ roll cowboys delivering the crucial elements of a rock show; epic sing-along choruses, thumping bass and double kick drum assaults, and the heavy colossal riffage and immense guitar solos that make us feel like we can take on the world with nothing but love in our hearts and a chip on our shoulder.