The Towers of London + Fleeing New York
Southampton Uni - October 2005
by PHIt would be unfair of me to make any significant comment on the quality of the music
displayed here because the sound, in terms of levels pertaining to the acoustics of the room, was awful. Both bands suffered from a wall of overpowering drums and bass which consumed any treble that was in there, meaning a lot of the vocals and guitar parts went unheard. I shouldn’t imagine it bothered either band too much because there weren’t that many people there to hear it. Fleeing New York were drafted in at the last minute to play as support for The Towers, who are part way through what appears to be a perpetual state of touring. They are an unlikely pairing, but Fleeing New York held their own, despite the sound problems and lack of sizeable audience. Taking most tracks from their forthcoming album, due for release early next year, they played with the enthusiasm and professionalism that has come to be expected of them. I look forward to seeing them again to find out if their music lives up to the hype that is currently surrounding them. The Towers of London have an altogether different... well, different everything really. They take 
to the stage like five wild animals and launch into their set of energetic, attitude-driven songs. It’s punk. It’s rock n' roll. Unfortunately, tonight, it’s messy and, as I’ve said before, the sound is awful. But it didn’t matter in terms of their attitude and self-belief – that was quite evident no matter what it sounded like. Read any article on The Towers and it will talk about drugs, sex, big hair, impromptu violence and a don’t-give-a-fuck attitude. I don’t doubt any of it, but don’t be lulled into making a false judgement by the press. Just before going on stage, when asked how the tour was going and what their plans were after the tour, guitarist ‘The Rev’ replied, “plan? There’s no fucking plan. We just do what we do.” How much of that is the rock-and-roll persona talking and how much is truth, 
is debatable but I really did get the impression that they’re not out to fool anyone. They’re not doing what they do to shock people. It’s not planned. It’s just them – five blokes from London living the rock and roll dream. Living their rock and roll dream. OK, so sometimes it’s crazy, sometimes it’s excessive and full of bravado and sometimes it’s stupid. But it’s honest. So what are they doing on their day off on Sunday? “Going to see my mum,” says bassist Tommy, “get a decent feed.” Not very rock and roll but it doesn’t get any more honest than that.
