Never before have we experienced such a diverse bunch of people gathered at the Concorde to see a band. Ranging from your true punks, hazy stoners, heavy rockers, those arty Brighton types to stereotypical parents; the crowd (and it is a crowd) is aged from eighteen to fifty. We would not have guessed that Terrorvision appealed to such a broad audience but as the show unfolds this becomes most understandable. Tonight, 90s indie rock is at large.

Terrorision play a selection of old and new songs from their catalogue. This includes ‘What Makes You Tick?’ early on in the set and ‘Oblivion’ from 1994’s ‘How to Make Friends and Influence People’, the band’s most popular album. Like Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ it set Terrorvision aside from the rest back in their heyday. They play ‘Josephine’ off ‘Shaving Peaches’ and slip in their big hit ‘Tequila’ with no special attention. Much respect for that. There is more emphasis on the early stuff, like ‘Don’t Shoot My Dog’ from ‘Formaldehyde’, towards the end of set. Incorporating material from throughout their career gives us a fair perception of Terrorvision as they are today. The boys manipulate the crowd like a puppet and the entire audience participate throughout the gig. Everybody is involved tonight.

Singer Tony Wright infects us with his on going excitement and draws our attention to the show as a spectacle. He is constantly jumping around and having a good time. By the end of the show the stage is a pool of sweat, snot, spit and beer. When they play us ‘Friends and Family’ from ‘Good To Go’, Tony’s words “There’s a party over here/Fuck you over there” never felt so relevant. It feels uplifting to be part of such a happy and friendly experience. ‘Super Delux’ is the new album and ‘Demolition Song’ is the new first song off their first album in ten years. This, as well as new single ‘Pushover’, proves to us fans that Terrorvision are as good as they were before and ten years has not affected their song writing or performance ability. They seem to be sticking to a familiar and comfortable format, and we are more than content with this style. It’s good to have them back.

By mid set, Terrorvision is an event you could not miss in future. The encore ‘Alice, What’s The Matter?’ is a massive crowd pleaser and a great way to end. If there are any women named Alice living within a ten mile radius of the Concorde we’re sure we made them paranoid. Terrorvision are an uplifting slice of good-night-out and an act to which others should aspire.

TERRORVISION
CONCORDE 2, SATURDAY 8th OCTOBER 2011
WORDS BY JOHN MCLEAN