Well, this was one way to spend a Wednesday evening. Hot off the heels of the success of their last installment, Guitar Hero is back with Warriors of Rock. They celebrated the forthcoming launch with a party at the Oxford Art Factory – complete with a Guitar Hero jam, the “characters” of the game playing it up for the cameras and the real life entertainment of Midnight Youth.
MC’d by Channel V’s Danny, the night began with a fake band, featuring our MC, and the lead singer of Midnight Youth on vocals. They played a bit of White Stripes, failing miserably on expert mode, before lowering their standards and succeeding for the cameras. Needless to say, the “real” band was much better.
I’m a big fan of Midnight Youth‘s debut album The Brave Don’t Run, although in tonight’s 25 minute song set, we didn’t hear all that much of it. But what they proved was that they know how to rock and roll, and come across as a super tight ensemble. In the spirit of the evening, they played covers which included Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”, and tracks of their own, including the highlight of the set, “Benjamin” – its says a lot when a bands own song is the highlight! But that’s just the sort of band they are – and that’s certainly not to say they didn’t do justice to the covers, either.
If you ever get the chance to see Midnight Youth rocking your socks off, don’t pass up the opportunity. I know I won’t. And in the meantime, play some Guitar Hero and pretend you’re as cool as they are. But that said, let’s face it – you can only look so cool playing video games.
All Photos by Tony Mott – Used with Permission.
