The 69 Eyes/South of Salem - London Review

Given that I had not been up to London for a few months, I have just got back from my second trip there in a week. I spend my birthday in the country's capital city last weekend to catch a powerful, old-school W.A.S.P. set at the Eventim Apollo - and I headed back up there yesterday, to the more modest confines of the O2 Academy in Islington, for a double header featuring both Finland's The 69 Eyes and the UK's own South of Salem. On paper, this billing was an exciting one. The 69 Eyes have long been one of the metal scene's best spooky gothic rockers - and South of Salem, whilst certainly more of a traditional hard rock act with plenty of 1980s influences, have a horror aesthetic of their own which has helped the rising stars become so beloved already here in the UK. Whilst I have seen South of Salem quite a few times during the past couple of years, I had not seen The 69 Eyes since 2011 - when I saw them in Nottingham. The Finnish five-piece have returned to the UK a few times since then, but for whatever reason I have never been able to go. When this short co-headline tour was announced earlier in the year, then, I knew that I had to get a ticket. It did not matter that I only last saw South of Salem in April, as they are one of my favourite up-and-coming UK bands at the moment - but the wait for a The 69 Eyes show made getting a ticket a no-brainer. They were perhaps the main draw for me, then, but, as I said, the pairing seemed made for each other - so I was not surprised to see some decent sized venues such as the excellent KK's Steel Mill booked. The London show made the most sense for me, though, and the O2 Academy in Islington was where I ended up last night. Perhaps not as good as some of the other venues on the tour, the strange, shopping centre-based venue is one that I have visited many times over the years. It would never rank very high on my favourite venues list, but I have nevertheless had many great nights in the rather utilitarian space - with my last visit being for Y&T last year. As expected, too, there was a decent turnout for both bands. The queue was snaking around the shopping centre when I got there - and by the time we were let in, slightly late, the room felt pretty full. I am sure that there was some space towards the rear - but down fairly close to the front where I was it felt busy. The bands' merch had to be set up in another bar area, too, as there was too much for the venue's usual merch area to cope with. So far so good, but it was soon clear that this show was not exactly what it was sold as. The tour was billed as a co-headline set-up, hence how this review is titled, and the set times posted from the previous dates showed that both bands had 75 minutes each. As such, I was looking forward to decent length sets from both - but, in London at least, the show very much felt like a The 69 Eyes headline show with South of Salem in support. South of Salem played for maybe around 50 minutes - whilst The 69 Eyes filled close to 90 minutes. I do not know what changed between the set times for the Wolverhampton show being posted earlier in the week and this tour-closing London show - but South of Salem did not feel like co-headliners, which was a shame.

Perhaps this was for the best, though, as I have to say that South of Salem's set was not up to their usual high standards. Their 2023 headline show in Bristol is one of the best I have been to by a small band for a long time - but last night felt quite flat. Much of this was not down to the band, as they battled a poor sound mix and technical issues throughout, but the setlist seemed a bit strange given the occasion, too. They also failed to really whip up a strong atmosphere. There were plenty of South of Salem shirts throughout the crowd, so I was expecting a big reaction - but such never came, and possibly this was down to the poor sound. The drums dominated everything, and one of the guitars was significantly quieter than the other one - plus I am not sure that the bass was always working, as the sound was often hollow and bassist Dee Aldwell regularly seemed to have to go off to the side to get it looked at. All of this, plus frontman Joey Draper suffering from a nasty cold, just added up to a bit of a lacklustre set. Let Us Prey always works well as a set opener, though, whilst the snaking and melodic Jet Black Eyes worked quite well coming so early in the set. There are not really any South of Salem songs that I dislike, but I think the band and I have different views as to their best cuts - particularly when it comes to a set list this where some of the crowd is unlikely to be familiar with the songs. When anthems like No Plague Like Home and Death of the Party are left out for songs like Made to Be Mine, which the crowd never really latched onto despite Draper trying to get a sing-a-long going, and Villain, the setlist was not one that really pushed the best of South of Salem onto a somewhat, at times, apathetic, crowd - although the nuances of the set were certainly lost thanks to the poor sound mix. Credit needs to go to guitarist Ed Van Egan for learning the set so quickly following the recent departure of Kodi Kasper - but sadly his guitar was the one which was very low in the mix, so some of his riffs and leads just did not land as a result. It is unclear if he is the band's new guitarist or whether he was just helping out on this tour - but he seemed to be doing a good job under the circumstances. Both Static and Bad Habits (Die Hard) are songs made for the stage, though, and the later did elicit a bit of a sing-a-long with its punchy chorus and sleazy overtones. I would not have included To the Moon and Back, either, but the Savage Garden cover seemed to go down well with sections of the crowd - even if all the set's momentum was then derailed by a non-functioning acoustic guitar for an acoustic version of Villain. This felt like a misstep given the vibe of the evening - and when it was over I was surprised by Draper saying that they did not have much time left. The synthy Hellbound Heart and the smoother Pretty Little Nightmare did get things back on track - before the band's big anthem Cold Day in Hell saw more singing, although given Van Egan's guitar was so low in the mix the song's big riff was not really audible. It brought a curate's egg of a set to an end, which disappointed given how good I know this band can be - but plenty of technical issues and a setlist which I would not have chosen for such a tour held South of Salem back. The setlist was:

Let Us Prey

Jet Black Eyes

Made to Be Mine

Static

Bad Habits (Die Hard)

To the Moon and Back [Savage Garden cover]

Villain

Hellbound Heart

Pretty Little Nightmare

Cold Day in Hell

In contrast, when The 69 Eyes hit the stage around 30 minutes later there was no doubting who the night belonged to. The sound was suddenly much clearer and the crowd came alive - and the next 90 or so minutes were filled with a 17-song set packed with many of The 69 Eyes' best-known gothic rock anthems. Despite very little in terms of a stage show, the band hit the stage with the evergreen Devils - and from that point on it was clear that the set was going to be a powerful one. The anthemic chorus saw plenty of singing from the crowd - and the energy levels rarely seemed to dip, with newer tracks greeted as warmly as many of the classics. Frontman Jyrki 69 still possesses a great voice, too. He does not seem to have aged over the years, either in terms of how he sounds or how he looks, and the rest of the band seemed to be having a great time - with Timo-Timo (guitar) just oozing cool throughout. Despite a few newer cuts played, the set was very much a best-of affair. The classics came thick and fast, then, with Feel Berlin and Betty Blue showcasing the Sister of Mercy-esque side of the band nicely - before the rumbling bass playing of Archzie drove the old Boycott tune Gotta Rock. This was a rawer effort, but generally there was a majestic smoothness to the set. Songs like The Chair and the excellent recent Death of Darkness showcased a good mix of clean and overdriven guitar playing - whilst the baritone vocals of Jyrki washed over the crowd. Melodic clean guitar passages and soaring leads from Bazie (guitar/vocals) were aplenty, then, but the band can riff away when they want to - with the juddering Perfect Skin and the anthemic Drive showing this off nicely. The latter may be another newer cut, but the crowd really went wild for it - with the big chorus being given the same treatment which Devils' had earlier in the set. Despite the band's sombre appearance, though, Jyrki took quite a few opportunities to talk to the crowd - and there was some good-natured banter between him and crowd. They may look serious, but it was clear that everyone was having a great time - with drummer Jussi 69 constantly flailing around theatrically behind his low, sprawling kit. There were not exactly many real surprises in the set, but it was still a lot of fun to hear older, slower tracks like Still Waters Run Deep and Wasting the Dawn - even if the sleazier I Love the Darkness in You and Gothic Girl were more popular with the crowd. There was a good flow to the set as a result of this mix, though, and by the time the main set came to an end with the doomy Brandon Lee the band could do no wrong. There was a surprise during the encore, though, as the band brought out former Guns N' Roses drummer Frank Ferrer, who was going to be DJing at their afterparty, to play a song with them. They teased You Could Be Mine, but that led into a powerful rendition of Alice Cooper's I'm Eighteen - which was largely played straight but given a gothic edge thanks to Jyrki's deep voice. It was a fun addition to the set, but soon Jussi was back behind his kit - and the smooth Dance d'Amour returned the set to the band at hand. With only one song left, the band rocked things up one last time with Lost Boys - and a fantastic set came to an anthemic end with plenty more singing during the melodic chorus. The setlist was:

Devils

Feel Berlin

Betty Blue

Gotta Rock [Boycott cover]

Perfect Skin

The Chair

Never Say Die

Death of Darkness

Drive

Still Waters Run Deep

I Love the Darkness in You

Wasting the Dawn

Gothic Girl

Brandon Lee

-

You Could Be Mine [Guns N' Roses cover]/I'm Eighteen [Alice Cooper cover w/ Frank Ferrer]

Dance d'Amour

Lost Boys

Despite South of Salem's set not hitting the spot as they usually do, and I hate being negative about a band I like a lot but I have to be honest in these reviews, I had a great evening in London last night. I still enjoyed seeing South of Salem again despite my issues with the set, and I found on of their plectrums on the floor as I was leaving, but The 69 Eyes were fantastic - and well worth the 14 year wait. The band were on a larger bill last time I saw them so played a shorter set, but this time they really got to showcase a good number of songs - and the classics played really shone. The band do not seem to age, nor do they seem to be slowing down - given that they hinted that new music would be released soon. I certainly will not be leaving it another 14 years to see them again.