Arriving late on this night in January, I caught only the final two songs of the Days in December set, but these were pretty damn fine. The material was delivered professionally, and the songs struck a nice balance between melody and muscle - overall it was a good solid performance. Formed in London three years ago, and with a fair bit of touring under their belts, this (I believe) was their only date on The Juliana Theory euro-jaunt. Despite being the first band on, they received a polite and enthusiastic reaction from, what I felt overall was, a somewhat subdued audience. I feel they'd be worth seeing again. Zaccharia Next up, hailing from Brussels, was Zaccharia. Taking their name from the Flemish word for sprouts (possibly!), they were playing their first-ever UK tour in support of the Tammy Wynette-influenced debut album, Divorce.
 | | Zaccharia on stage |
It took a little while for them to actually hit their stride, but once they did, they were more than adept. Even though I guess they weren't that well known to the majority of those watching (including myself), they were well received. The set had plenty of variation in both tempo and style - they played their rockier material early on, and the somewhat heavier stuff towards the end. It culminated in what I felt were their two strongest and most memorable numbers - the inspiringly named and moshable Untitled, which achieved the best reaction of all, followed by the album's title track, which sped along like an out-of-control freight train. As Obi-Wan Kenobi would have said to them: "May Di-Vorce be with you on the rest of the tour lads." Haste the Day Main support for the entire tour is Haste the Day. This seemed an unusual choice, as their metalcore style of music was infinitely different from that of the headliners. Having said that, in the States, The Juliana Theory do often play with bands from the heavier end of the musical spectrum (albeit with varying levels of success).
 | | Haste the Day on stage |
Towards the end of 2005, it was suggested that Haste the Day may not even appear, due to the recent departure of vocalist Jimmy Ryan (who played his last show on 30 December). Nevertheless, with a more-than-adequate replacement fill-in screamer (ahem, singer) in the form of Stephen Keech (singer with Colorado band New Day Awakening), the tour was all stations go. This quintet was by far the most intense band of the evening. From the opening intro to set-closer Blue 42, the pace and brutality of their music was unrelenting, with synchronous head-banging from the band, as their sounds of righteous fury raged on as though their lives depended on it. When Stephen announced: "We are a Christian band, and we love Jesus," there was one momentary let-up in ferocity, before they once again launched full-pelt into a paint-peeling onslaught, prompting the small, but enthusiastic, bunch of moshers to try to knock out each other's teeth for The Lord. Amen! The Juliana Theory Following a severe delay, due to equipment problems, Pennsylvania's The Juliana Theory finally took to the stage at around 11.45pm. By then, I was wondering if the show would ever proceed, and, if it did, whether it would be severely truncated due to a venue curfew. With the ski slope closed for the evening, my frustration was further exacerbated because I couldn't even impress the kids with some nifty snowboarding manoeuvres while I waited.
 | | The Juliana Theory |
The Juliana Theory's music is hard to pigeonhole - in part due to the fact that, although their early music was of a heavily emo nature, their newer albums have progressed into hard rock/pop territory. In fact, the last album, Love, even veers into mainstream rock territory (shock, horror), and you could even imagine them playing vast amphitheatres far removed from here. The newly released fourth album, Deadbeat Sweetheart, sees them back on an indie label, however. The record has a more preferable, rawer and less-produced live feel to it than its predecessors. Debonair vocalist (and Clive Owen-doppelgänger), Brett Detar arrived on stage, with a cocksure swagger, attired immaculately in black (if you ignore those deodorant stains in his armpits!), and with not one solitary slicked-back hair out of place. Around and behind him, the more casually dressed Chad and the Joshua Three launched into If I Told You This Was Killing Me, Would You Stop?. From then on, they breezed through a career-spanning set of material, with my own personal highlights including the Faith No More-esque Love Song for the Loveless, My Heart is Like a Soldier and Jewel to Sparkle.
 | | Clive Owen, aka Brett Detar |
Brett's voice, which on some of the band's recorded output can be irritatingly whiny and nasal, adapted well to the live environment, and the sound quality was excellent throughout, allowing the individual instruments to shine. In a venue that isn't renowned for its high acoustic quality, the guitars were crisp and clean, with some sterling drumming and a strong bass foundation. I'd say that each instrument was at just the right level in the mix. On this outing, the musicians, despite being quite immobile on stage, proved that ability-wise, they aren't just a backing band for a pretty-boy lead singer. By the time they climaxed with Constellation, I knew I'd just witnessed a stellar performance. An outstanding show To summarise, I'd say this was an outstanding if eclectic show, albeit, with the benefit of hindsight, an ambitious prospect for the promoter. But full credit to him for taking the risk. At one point during the performance, Brett announced on stage: "This is the first time we have played a ski lodge," and I'd guess, judging by the unexpectedly low turnout, that this will probably also be the last. The Juliana Theory may be a platinum-selling band in the US, but I doubt their albums fly out the door of Yeovil's Acorn Records. The young fan base doubtless meant that what I anticipated to be a sold-out gig, was, in fact, attended by around only 100 people on what was, after all, a school/college night. The late appearance of The Juliana Theory sadly led to a further decimation of the audience by the denouement. Nevertheless, those who stayed to the end left suitably rewarded. For further information on Yeovil's music scene, click on this link:
| 
