Howling Bells at the Metro
On Friday night I took De to see the Howling Bells at the Metro . I’m not familiar with their stuff but it was a great show. The Metro was pretty much full and the crowd gave them a very warm response.
In a previous life (prior to 2004, I think) Howling Bells were known as Waikiki. I saw them under this name at Newtown RSL back in 1999 or 2000, when I was working as the in-house sound engineer. I’ll admit I don’t remember them that well, but I remember well enough to know they’ve come a long way since then. The Bells have done a lot of touring over the last couple of years with some big names (including The Killers and Placebo) and it really shows in the quality of their performance. I will be picking up the album for sure.
The Metro itself was also in fine form on the night. Back in the days when I used to go more often, it had a battered old Martin Audio system which had probably been deafening punters since the early eighties. It sounded passable on good nights. These days it’s a Nexo Alpha system, a vast improvement. Kudos to the Bells’ front of house engineer as the gig was a pleasure to listen to.
If you are after a more comprehensive review of the night check out this one by Chock.
