VNV Nation with War Tapes and Ayria

This past Sunday, I managed to drive all the way to Cleveland to catch one of my favorite bands of all time–VNV Nation. They are on tour supporting their latest effort titled “Of Faith, Power and Glory.” I personally like this album, but it does have a different tone then past albums and at the same time does not seem to be quite up to par. With that said, I still enjoy listening to it and I think it will grow on me, it just seems I like a couple songs way more than the rest of the album. Regardless of my thoughts of the latest album, I have seen VNV Nation once before and was in no way going to miss this tour. Due to some prior arrangements, I had to drive a bit further than I probably would have had to for a closer city, but the trip was fun and worth every moment.

If you have never seen VNV Nation live before, and even remotely enjoy their music, you will be nothing less than pleased by their performance. Watching the jolly Ronan Harris perform the music for which he is every bit as passionate about as his fans is simply unforgettable. He exclaimed, during their set, that they will be touring again late this year and you should make a concerted effort to attend. The shows are small (not stadium filling), but are intimate.

With that said, on to my review! The event was held at Peabody’s Downunder, a venue I have never been at before, but it was an above average place to hold a show. It had a large open bar, a couple stages, two levels, and I would estimate enough room to hold maybe a thousand people. Much better than Club Zoo in Pittsburgh for comparison.  The only things that could have made the place better in my opinion were higher ceilings and a lot more AC. Now that the what and where have been answered, how about the who?

Three bands were to play this night and I will have to admit, I got a little lazy and did not even bother trying to look up who was opening for VNV Nation. The supporting acts were Ayria and War Tapes. I actually am sort of happy I did not though, because they turned out to be surprisingly good. Ayria was of a similar genre/style of music as VNV Nation and was first up. The singer, Jennifer Parkin, is quite beautiful and played into my like of female fronted bands. I thought her voice was stunning and the music easy to get into. It took me next to no time to enjoy their performance and by the end I was sold, I ended up buying Ayria’s limited edition box of their latest album “Hearts for Bullets.” Since, then I have listened to it several times and am planning on buying some of their back catalog.

Next, up was War Tapes, a actual band with no everyone playing traditional instruments. It was clear from the get got they were of a different style and did not completely fit the mold of the other two bands they were on tour with. Even so, I enjoyed their music and certainly appreciated the singers passion. War Tapes reminded me of Evaline and AFI; my friend accompanying me said his voice reminded him of the singer of the Cult. I was not completely sold on them, but will deffinetly check them out some more. Also, after the show we got to talk to the singer for a bit and could not believe the tyraid he was going on. Lets just say, you either will love or hate War Tapes and they will without a doubt become a success.

Lastly, VNV Nation came on and they did not disappoint. They played about two hours of glorious music. Last time I seen them, I was a bit dissapointed they did not play “Joy,” but to my surprise they opened with this song. From the moment I heard the beginning of this song I knew the crowd was going to get a good show. It was at this moment, that a fan handed off his giant inflatable sword to Ronan and got things going. They played many of my favorites including: “Illusion,” “Chrome,” “The Farthest Star,” “Fearless,” “The Great Divide,” “Lastlight,” “Legion,” “Perpetual,” “Sentinel,” and “Standing.” Due to height limitations in the venue, they played a longer show, played a much different set than from the previous shows on the tour, including older songs, and ended the night with a blast from the past. I was simply exhausted and a sweaty mess by the end of this show and would have it no different if done again. I was pleased to meet the bands and will have to say this show ranks up there with the best ones out of the hundred plus I have seen.