letlive.
The Fighting Cocks, Kingston
11/09/2011

Jason Aalon Butler is not a shy man, but he’s hiding beneath the merch table in the small and sweaty confines of Kingston’s Fighting Cocks venue. Admittedly, the letlive. singer has just run across it and flung a couple of CDs into the baying mob of the moshpit he’s just been inside. Oh, and here he is again, running intensely, in nothing more than his boxer shorts, back into the fray, past the drum kit that the band has just moved into the centre of the room and onto the stage to finish ‘Casino Columbus’ – the last song of their last gig of their current UK tour. It is, frankly, a ridiculous moment. Even more ridiculous is that it’s only one of many.

This is letlive.’s second night of two here and it begins with Butler hoisting himself up into the cubby hole above the stage, from where he dangles down his mic into the flailing arms of the bodies below. A furious ball of energy, he leaps into the crowd and shreds his throat as the band – at this early point all still on stage – blast through their visceral and intelligent brand of post-hardcore. Little by little, though, the intensity and energy starts to derail the logistics of the room, and the line between band and crowd is blurred. ‘Muther’ sees Butler vent his deepest, darkest internal anger and angst to the room, and although he doesn’t indulge in his usual Jim Morrison-esque poetic monologue, it’s nevertheless a standout, powerful moment. Elsewhere, bodies flail during ‘The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion’ and ‘Renegade 86’, only to positively fly later when the band run through ‘H. Ledger’, a blistering cover of Refused’s ‘The Deadly Rhythm’ and the aforementioned finale.

Whatever kind of music you’re into – and even if you hate post-hardcore – it’s impossible to deny the following fact. letlive. are one of the most thrilling live bands on the planet today – and they’re only going to get better.

Mischa Pearlman