Gig: Kite Thief @ 229 London
Kite Thief by Liam Daysh-Holmes
The electrifying Bristol-based rockers, Kite Thief, dominated the stage at London's 229 venue on Friday the 1st of March 2024 on their eagerly anticipated tour as they traverse across the UK. Just like their previous gigs, such as their performances at the acclaimed 2000trees Festival in recent years, this one is to be remembered and marked.
From the get-go, Kite Thief’s latest EP Ambiviolent is not to be missed. It seamlessly blends modern metalcore with melodic lyrics, Elin Allan's truly smashed this album, and, without a doubt, it translates amazingly in a live setting. Kite Thief's stage presence was nothing short of extraordinary; each member owned the venue especially resident headbanger and bassist, Henry Stone. With Allan up front with vocals, Stone hiding at the back of stage left behind guitarist Josh Bailey, guitarist Max Harris on stage right and drummer Zac Level tucked at the back of the stage, fans were in for a night of metal, rock and passion.
Not to mention the crowd were more than warmed up and ready after listening to both support acts from Night Thieves, who recently released their EP, and Michy Tree who only forced the audience to put their drinks down and get on their feet. Blood was pumping for Kite Thief. We have to say that both of these support acts deserve true love and recognition and that we hope to see these on bigger stages soon... You must give these two a listen, especially if you are already a fan of Kite Thief, you just won't be able to stop listening.
Whilst the 229 venue offered a unique, quaint experience for fans to interact with the band and give that real community feeling as the band and members and tight audience could intertwine their love for music. We couldn’t help but feel this band had the energy and vibe to own a much bigger stage and we wouldn’t be surprised if we see them at the freshly reopened Brixton Academy in the coming years, offering a bigger stage and space for these high-octane musicians to rock with.
But alas, the audience loved Kite Thief, and the venue allowed for a loving atmosphere as everyone rubbed shoulders as they jumped to the beat. Allan just couldn’t help but smile and cheekily stick her tongue out to the audience, everyone was just pure vibing. However, it appeared that one of the guitarists, Bailey, had a little technical hitch that forced him to push himself through the tight-knit crowd, to come back shortly later with a new guitar which just added to the chaos and energy that the band brought to the stage.
Allan did mention she did not expect that many people to come out and see them, which we found surprising... especially after listening to their music which is literally on par with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon or Spiritbox, which funnily enough is part of the band's inspiration!
We cannot say a bad thing about this band. From the first stab to the guitars and first strike to the drum to the last note of Allan's beautiful vocals, there was just constant vibrating through your bones. You just had to be there to experience it. But you can mesmerise this by listening to their tracks... but be warned, they will make you want to see them live! You will have ample opportunity to, it's clear these guys are only going up.
Kite Thief are a band that makes music because they love it. After connecting at university, it's clear this is the only thing they want to do. They love the fans, they love the music and they love each other. To be honest, that’s what live music is about and they showed exactly that as they took over the 229.
See all the photos from Liam Daysh-Holmes below.
