Live Review: Veridian @ The Joiners, Southampton UK
Having been around for less than a year, it’s a surprise when Reading alt-rockers Veridian make a stadium worthy appearance in the tiny venue that is The Joiners. The six-piece outfit make their way onstage, barely fitting all of their equipment, never less themselves, upon the small platform. They begin abruptly, their tracks confident, powerful and notable.
Having already had coverage from media outlets such as BBC, Upset, Rock Sound, Scuzz, Punktastic and Kerrang Radio, it’s no surprise that they put on a fantastic show, drawing even those who have never heard of them forward towards the stage. Having supported The Ataris for a sold out show earlier this year, and supporting Evarose during this tour, it’s hard to say that Veridian will be unknown for long, as they have the performance chops to stand on their own beside these well-known names. Having just announced their debut EP 40826D (named after their band name hue colour), they perform previous singles ‘One Day’ and ‘Refuse to Feel’ among others, that by no means sound like an up and coming band, their presence that of veteran performers.
For fans of bands like Hands Like Houses and Emarosa, they fully pursue a show that transcends the size of the venue, which turns out to be a good and a bad thing. For an up and coming band, it is amazing that they can produce the level of production that would fit in a stadium environment, but it almost seems to be too much for the small-scale tour. Most aggravating and bothersome are the huge lights that sit upon the speakers behind the band as they play. Not only do they flash bright colours both fading and strobing, they blind the audience who are seeing nothing but a shadow of the band that are being backlit by beams the strength of the sun. Seeing spots is definitely not better than seeing Veridian, who are killing it, somewhere, up on stage. It makes the performance hard to focus on and ultimately lets the music down in a big way.
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