Gigs - VNV Nation

Tuesday 11th December - Thekla Social, Bristol

I had never been to a gig at the Thekla before, so didn't really know what to expect from the venue. But I had high expectations from the band, having seen them earlier this year at Infest, where they blew my mind and gave my OH an epiphany regarding glow sticks!

The support act, Kloq, made a good go at warming up a tough crowd, who only reluctantly gathered around the stage and barely even tapped their feet along to the catchy synth rhythms. I enjoyed them, but confess I was impatient for the main attraction - VNV Nation.

My friends and I managed to get ourselves right up front as soon as Kloq left the stage and we waited as the crowd pressed in behind us. Glow sticks at the ready, the crowd broke into hysterics waiting for the band to come on stage. One girl off to our left kept screaming, and I mean, horror movie, lung-ripping screaming. The crowd began telling her to shut up, but every couple of minutes she would let out another great scream.

The audience were not disappointed when one of the first things Ronan said was to tell this girl to cut it out.

"It's funny... once. After that it's just annoying."

I had been struck on seeing VNV previously how funny Ronan is as a frontman. He engages the crowd with anecdotes and moments of wit to rival the best stand up comedians in Britain, but more than this he is an expert at getting the crowd involved. He encourages movement and singing along, he covers the stage thoroughly and being up front as we were, we were treated to regular grins from him as he towered right over us. At one point he saw me holding my camera up and made sure to pause long enough for me to get a clear photo of him.

VNV have produced some incredible tracks over the years. Anthemic dance tracks as well as heart-felt ballads and as at Infest, where they dedicated 'Illusion' to Sophie Lancaster, I was moved to tears during this powerful slow track from their latest album, Judgement.

A technical problem forced the band to leave the stage and the crowd waited patiently for the issue to be resolved. Great relief swept over us when the band returned to play another few songs and we were treated to a standard encore after that.

Knowing the latest album significantly better than when I last saw VNV certainly heightened my enjoyment of the gig, which is saying something. Exhausted though I was by the encore I couldn't help but dance with all the energy I could muster and I found myself the following day barely able to walk; my back was so sore!

A heck of a gig, here's hoping that VNV Nation return to Bristol often.