Live Review - Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Strange Bones and Yonaka @ The Asylum, Birmingham 25/03/17

First up were Yonaka, an interesting four piece from Brighton. Watching Yonaka was a cinematic experience. We’d never heard of this band before this night, but they completely blew our socks off! Sounding like some weird interim between Florence and the Machine and Incubus they captivated the audience and truly warmed up the crowd. 

Punk isn’t defined by the sound, but by the attitude, message and passion, making Blackpool’s Strange Bones a current flagbearer for the Punk genre. Angered by the current Conservative government, they are making music that serves as the biggest of middle fingers to the establishment. Songs like ‘We The Rats’ and ‘Big Sister Is Watching’ pack the kind of punch you imagine seeing the Sex Pistols in the 70s performing, Strange Bones could be the band to shout loudest in a post-Brexit world! 

With every little step up in venue, Frank Carter and his riotous Rattlesnakes get better and better, Frank’s maturity shines through and he is slowly becoming a megastar. The best frontmen can have a crowd eating out the palm of their hand, the greatest frontmen don’t pander to those levels, the winning frontmen whip the crowd into a frenzy!

The Modern Ruin album is a change of pace and tone for the Rattlesnakes, but this doesn’t hinder the live experience in any way. Within the first song ‘Snakehips’ Carter is over the other side of the Asylum rocking out on the bar, and it was a start that set the tone for the night, bloody barmy! 

Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are possibly the band that can set the bar for what a modern rock band can achieve in the music industry, future headline festival slots are pretty much guaranteed. The Rattlesnakes have done something many bands struggle with, they have become successful, without selling out and without losing their integrity and passion.