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House Of Vans X Crossfire Halloween Massacre; an undead multi subcultural Samhain bash.
The combination of unseasonably warm weather and the pagan festivities gave us the perfect opportunity/excuse to indulge last week. The new, London-based House Of Vans played host this year to The Crossfire’s annual Halloween party, and with the announcement of Turbonegro as headliner, there was no way I was missing it. Saying that, it could have been -20 and patrons of HOV would still have been going full throttle, including Turbonegro's fan club The Turbojugend whom, I suspect, started drinking at around the same time I got my flight that morning (7am).
There had been rumours floating around for a while about who the surprise support act would be, and I can safely say that nobody was disappointed when Canada’s Cancer Bats were announced as the secret act. Opening to an already energized room painted up with thick black inverted crosses, the arch of HOV'S venue proved a gauntlet to anyone wanting to brave the front.
Relentlessly storming through their signature hardcore, vocalist Liam Cormier jumped and screamed though venom-filled tracks like RATS and Hail Destroyer. Finally they treat onlookers to a cover of the Beastie Boys Sabotage & Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake from their forth coming album before bowing out.
The main attraction, Turbonegro, broke the tension in the room by storming through a fast paced first half of their set, which included Back to Dungaree High and Get It On from their seminal Apocalypse Dudes record. The second half of the set opened with Age Of Pamparius. Tony Sylvester, front man and Londoner, imposed over his home town crowd, sporting his signature makeup, riding boots and braces, rasping out classics like I Got Erection, during which the crowd split in two causing a massive mosh fest when the chorus kicked in - ensuring there was not a scrap of dry denim in the house!
The rest of the (somewhat blurry) night consisted of HOV cocktails, Dogger and Semtex DJ sets and some dodgy dancing.
Since opening earlier in the year, House of Vans is rapidly becoming the go-to venue for once in a lifetime, intimate shows which are not only special for the guests but for the bands themselves. Thanks to Vans for the invite!
Davie, Edinburgh Store Manager
