Assemblage 23

Tom Shear, the founder and singer of Assemblage 23, is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist who plays incredible electro-industrial and synthpop music with his band. He opened the show by inviting his instrumentalists to the stage to perform a couple of solos, whilst he spoke over the top and introduced himself to the audience. The combination of live guitar and drums from his band, along with the industrial sound samples that Shear had previously mixed, made a great crossover of sounds, and provides an exciting sound.

He opened the show with his track Spark, and the powerful lyrics, which seem even more poignant live, held the audience in silence from start to finish. The way that he performed and translated the message of his lyrics to the audience was something that you can never experience from a studio recording. He played a great selection of his tracks, from songs on Contempt, his first studio album, right up to Bruise, the newest of the collection. I especially enjoyed the way that he switched from playing his instruments, to performing vocals, and it was a real showcase of his talent that I was unaware that he possessed from simply listening to recorded tracks and albums.