13-02-2024 Nothing More

Support: SiM & Siamese Location: TivoliVredenburg Ronda, Utrecht (the Netherlands)

The Danish band Siamese are the ones to kick off this Tuesday evening in Utrecht. The band is on the forefront of a new era music wise and they have taken on a little heavier sound than before. They have been around quite a while as their first release was in 2011. Since then vocalist Mirza Radonjica and guitarist Andreas Kruger have helped many other artists from songwriting to the skills of being their manager. Now it is time to focus on their own band Siamese. And that is what they did this evening. Full of energy and their joy and enthusiasm to play can’t be missed. They brought their R&B inspired, electronic infused rock on stage while flirting with the grittier metalcore riffs. Not your typical band as they also bring a very poppy approach on stage. Their upbeat tempo is catchy and possibly the right one to warm up an audience. Maybe a little odd for those who mainly came to see the headlining alternative rockers Nothing More but they quite possibly soon over the likes of many in the crowd. They have just released their newest singles “On Fire” and “Vertigo”. And are ready to conquer the hearts of new people and this evening was a start of that.

Second up this evening is the special act Nothing More presenting us: the Japanese SiM. This abbreviation stands for Silence iz Mine. Consisting of vocalist MAH, guitarist SHOW-HATE, bassist SiN and their drummer GODRi. They call their music style a mix between a bit of reggae, ska and punk mixed with metal. These guys started back in 2004 and have 6 albums on their name. You might know them from their song ‘the Rumbling’ which they wrote for an anime tv-series called ‘Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2’. Even though they are a Japanese band, luckily for us they sing a lot of their lyrics in English so we can all shout and sing along. And join in on their rebellious anger. Something their frontman is eagerly asking from the audience. Their show is energetic and it gets you in that good mood, probably due to the reggae and punk influences. It is hard to not nod your head. They play us some pretty aggressive guitar riffs and they have a good punkish attitude to serve it with. This evening they promoted their latest album ‘Playdead’ but also played earlier work. They got the temperature up in the venue and were quite ready for the main act of this evening.

After the changeover it was time for the 4 piece Texan band Nothing More to enter the stage. They are known for their alternative rock/progressive metal. The venue was packed by now and the rows in the front were quite filled with females although it was a good mixed audience age wise. Nothing More has existed since 2003 and have been in the Netherlands before but this time for their own headlining show. They kicked off their set with ‘Let ’em Burn’ to set the tone of the rest of their show. And what a show it was. These guys know how to deliver a good performance. Clearly vocalist Jonny Hawkins grabs the attention with his painted slim trained chest and barefeet. He can probably entertain the audience on its own but both guitarist Mark Vollelunga and bassist Daniel Oliver are quite capable as well. The energy is high (jumping and the pit) and the audience sings along to almost all songs, if not all. From their newest single ‘If it Doesn’t Hurt’ to favorites like ‘Go to War’, ‘Jenny’, to the emotionally resonant track ‘Fade in/Fade out’. But it wasn’t just to sing along there were some great guitar riffs, good grooving bass lines and rhythmic drums to rock out on. They ended their set with ‘This is the Time (Ballast)’ after they mentioned that they are not doing encores but they will absolutely end with a bang, giving their absolute all. That might have been a slight warning because the crowd joined in on the madness and fun. Jumping, singing and a little pit. It was all there. What a good show.