BEST OF ENEMIES @ SURYA LONDON // REVIEW

Best of Enemies are a band which I discovered on Twitter a few months ago, and having listened to their EP and liking their sound I decided to go and watch them support Amaryllis at Surya. I'd only ever seen short clips on Instagram of them performing so I didn't know what they'd be like on the stage at all, however as soon as they were on the stage I knew that whatever happened it was going to be a fun set.

Although the show was sold out, Surya is a tiny venue located in the Kings Cross area, which meant that even with all the tickets that had been sold there was only ever going to be a small crowd as the audience. The band had an even harder time though, as they were the first on stage, and the first of three support acts, meaning that they were playing to a relatively small crowd of people who had just strolled in and were yet to get into the swing of things. None of these things stopped the band giving it their all though, which is what made their set so good. Generally if the people on stage look like they're enjoying themselves it radiates around the room and people soon began to respond to the bands energy by moving closer towards the stage and filling in the gap between them and the stage.

One thing to be admired about this band is that you could put them in a room with just one person watching and they would still probably give the same performance as they would to 50. From start to finish lead singer Sam Christmas was bounding across the stage, utilising any bit of space he could to dance around while playing. Between songs he shouted encouragements at the crowd, egging them on to sing along. When he asked which song they should cover, and got little response from the crowd, he carried on and joked that it was even (only about one person responded for each option). Nothing was going to stop this band from having a good time and playing their songs. Although not quite as active as Sam, Ben and Christian equally appeared to be enjoying their time on stage. Due to the stage set up and maybe where I was standing, Simon was a little lost to the back of the stage which is a shame. In terms of live sound the band played well together, interacting with each other on stage to make sure that their overall performance was tight. They powered through the tracks from their EP, songs which have strong beats and lyrics which many people will be able to use to verbalise their own lives. The choruses are catchy in a way that's enjoyable and not irritating.

Best of Enemies gave me what I go and watch live music for, charm, fun, and music I can sing along to. The only thing that was really missing from their set was a crowd willing to give back the energy they received.

Find Best of Enemies:

 Twitter - @bestofenemiesuk

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bestofenemiesband

Bandcamp - http://bestofenemiesuk.bandcamp.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUs_9ENWTBvl_oCuFVCSbA