PANIC CELL LIVE @O2 Academy, Birmingham

Panic Cell
02 Academy Birmingham
09/04/10

THIS DAY WILL DAWN were the first to grace the stage and about thirty seconds later it was apparent that they were not going down too well with the crowd. People were becoming restless and bored as they thrashed their way through the first song. The band were quite energetic and enthusiastic, especially vocalist, Rob Clarke, who spent most of the time jumping and pointing to the crowd; However his enthusiasm did not mirror the response from the people watching, as some started drifting off towards the bar. Each song was met with near silence and the relief showed on a few people’s faces when they finally left the stage.

On to the second band of the evening, G U MEDICINE, promoting their new album 'Lords Of Oblivion', they kicked off with 'Pure Motorized Instinct' which is also the opening track. Their set was a pure slice of rock, throwing in songs from previous albums as well as new material. The band were impressive from the word go and managed to get people back in front of the stage. The Yorkshire quartet seemed to be having a good time as well playing with real enthusiasm and engaging the crowd several times, at one point screaming “Are you having a good fuc*ing time?! “ G U Medicine was a breath of fresh air after the opening band.

And so to the main event: PANIC CELL ripped straight into their set, playing tracks from the new album 'Fire It Up' alongside previous songs. The relatively small crowd inside the venue soon started to warm to the new material and soon heads were nodding back and forth in unison, but it was better known songs such as 'Save Me' that got the best response from the crowd. At one point frontman, Luke Bell, handed over his microphone to one lucky fan to sing along, which he did with great enthusiasm. Songs like 'Unbroken', 'Lie To Me' and 'Jaded', all from the new album, went down a treat and sounded amazing! In fact the sound for the whole set was brilliant; each individual instrument could be clearly heard and the vocal side of it was spot on as well with Bell managing to sound classic rock and aggressive at the same time, giving the songs a gritty edge. At one point Bell passed a few shots of Jagermeister along the front of the audience, which were soon snapped up (especially by the Primal Noise team, who never turn down a free shot! *Hic* Cheers!).

The set ended, not with a Panic Cell classic but with upcoming new single, a cover version of Seals 'Crazy'. Cover versions, especially from different genres, tend to be real hit and miss affairs, but Panic Cell have really nailed this one, giving a song that most people will know a fresh feel.

Overall Panic Cell were rock heaven, playing every song with great enthusiasm and emotion. Their live performance could not be faulted, so the Panic Cell juggernaut rolls on to another town collecting new recruits to their slowly but surely growing fanbase.

Review Written By: Alan Jones

**Live Pictures coming soon!

CLICK HERE for our Interview with Panic Cell's LUKE BELL!