Give It A Name 2008

United Kingdom | by Jamie Barker | 13 May 2008

A combination of stunning weather, no pass-outs and typical arena beer pricing means that very few people are inside Sheffield Arena in time to greet Mexicolas to the stage. Their brash brand of rock n’ roll doesn’t really fit with anything set to follow, so having them open proceedings seems like a strange choice.

Four Year Strong are more typical of the Give It A Name criteria. They take the bounce of bands like New Found Glory and inject a ferocity which adds edge, but can sometimes seem a little forced. It’s their first time in the UK and while few people seem to be familiar with them they also incite the first crowd movement of the day. A big prospect for the future.

Fred Mascherino's new incarnation, the aptly named The Color Fred, entices a hefty crowd through the doors, but more out of curiosity than anything else. Musically he takes what he did with Taking Back Sunday and waters it down, crafting something melodic but ultimately lacklustre. ‘If I Surrender’ invites the first real singalong of the day.

Envy On The Coast are a complex band amongst straightforward peers today and their angular guitars and interesting time signatures seem to confuse and delight in equal measure. State Radio plod their way through their reggae-tinged back catalogue before a minimal crowd who seem more concerned with timing their lunch than paying any real attention to the music. Strike Anywhere showcase their career highs and it sounds great live. Sadly though, they spend the majority of their set playing to people who are busying themselves getting into position for the next band rather than even bothering to look in their direction.

That next band bound onstage in the shape of You Me At Six, they’re the only band playing today who’ve yet to release anything more than a single, but somehow they manage to garner one of the best reactions of the weekend. Their officially released output may be minimal, but the power of the internet has ensured that their British pop-punk is accompanied by a chorus of sweaty urchins screaming along to every word.

The British assault continues immediately with The Blackout providing one of the heaviest sets of the day. The continued crowd enthusiasm raises questions about why the organisers still insist on massively favouring the American contingent year after year, rather than indulging the fans with the homegrown talent they clearly desire. As with most of the bands today Armor For Sleep struggle with sound problems and a general lack of crowd interest. Their minor hits, such as ‘Car Underwater’, provoke slight reactions but sadly most people have already left in search of food and beer.

Silverstein’s set is one of the worst of the weekend. The sound in the arena takes even more of a nosedive, which doesn’t help their brash attempts at mixing screams with melody come close to the overproduced sound of their studio output. Anti Flag have been ploughing their same government-hating furrow for many years now and their albums can often feel preachy and repetitive, but they suffer from no such problem live. They bound around the stage with more enthusiasm than the crowd has managed at any point so far and the audience, finally, respond in kind. Even if their recorded material leaves you cold Anti Flag are a band that have to be seen to be truly enjoyed.

They’re followed by returning heroes Glassjaw, absent from the music scene for several years to allow Darryl to indulge his disco persona with Head Automatic and guitarist Beck to become a millionaire with his Merch Direct venture, they’re back and as passionate as ever. Their set suffers, again, from the poor sound in the arena with the hi-hat seemingly taking bizarre prominence in the mix. This, coupled with their reluctance to employ a second guitarist, means that much of their subtlety is lost today and their performance does suffer slightly for it. The crowd are far more reserved than the copious amounts of Glassjaw merchandise on show would lead you to expect, leaving their long-awaited return feeling a little flat. Glassjaw are a band to lose yourself in and sadly, today, they seem to get lost themselves in a huge, empty arena with terrible sound.

Judging by the amount of people who will later leave before 30 Seconds To Mars it’s clear that a large portion of the crowd consider Billy Talent to be tonight’s honorary headline act and they live up to the responsibility well. Tracks such as ‘Try Honesty’ and ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ may have only been modest commercial successes for the band in the UK but plenty of the audience seem to be well acquainted with them, as they do with much of the rest of the bands material. Vocalist Ben Kowalewicz has a unique voice, which transfers shockingly well to the live arena, and as the band plough through their set with little trouble from the recurrent sound gremlins, they provide one of the standout performances of the day.

Sadly the same cannot be said for headliners 30 Seconds To Mars. The arena was never more than half full today but 30 Seconds To Mars would easily have taken half full over the dismal collection of people stood before them as they launch into their set. The numbers continue to dwindle as the set wears on and the curious decide they’ve seen enough.  This disinterest in the overhyped headline act may well be a contributing factor to this year’s terrible ticket sales. If Give It A Name is to return next year then the organisers need to fix the sound issues and seriously consider the sort of acts that people who attend the festival want to see atop the bill.