My Vitriol

The two times I have seen My Vitriol previously in Manchester they were so good, so I decided to go to this gig.

Wilt supported and they were really good, although I did not know any of their songs. I had been looking forward to this gig for a couple of weeks and when My Vitriol came on there was a really good atmosphere, the crowd was going mad and things were looking good.

Then they started playing. Was this the same band I had seen before? The sound was atrocious, the songs were indistinguishable you couldn't hear the singing at all. He was drowned out by the drums being played too loudly. As a result of the loud drums, the guitars were turned up and there was a lot of distortion and resonance. At the end of each song there was continuous ringing in your ears. This poor sound quality continued the whole way through the set with no attempt to improve it. On top of this the lighting was terrible and it blinded everyone trying to see the band. They gave up too early and put no effort into playing whatsoever.

Whereas I accept that the venue was not the greatest in the world, the fact remains that the supporting acts were good. The poor quality of the sound was due to the fact that they did not sound check properly. Their lack of effort was a disgrace for the fans who had paid money to see them. There are unsigned bands out there struggling for a record deal who go out and play gigs (which are much cheaper to get in to) with poor equipment and less time to devote to practising who put on a lot better shows than that, without any recognition which they deserve far more than My Vitriol. Who clearly had no intentions of putting on a good performance tonight, and I know that I am not the only person that shares this view as so many people left during the gig.

Amy Trumpeter

(Manchester Student union 12th July)