I had only been to Brixton Academy once before, but it was a pleasure to return there as I think it’s a beautiful old venue with a great sound and a clever sloping standing area that means you’re pretty much guaranteed a decent view wherever you are. The venue is only let down by it’s choice of lager, which is restricted to Carlsberg or Tuborg, both of which I would be hesitant to touch, even at a festival or as a last resort in pre drinks, let alone pay £4.55 for a pint of it. So, stone cold sober I took up my position in the middle at the front of the stage, and prepared for what I knew would be a great show, having seen Feeder a year previously at Shepherds Bush Empire during their Renegades tour.
Having arrived at doors at Brixton Academy to secure my enviable position up against the barrier, I was starting to get rather jittery when Feeder didn’t come on at they’re scheduled time of 9pm. However, when, 15 minutes later, the lights dimmed and 20th Century Trip blared from the PA system, the restless crowd who had been faithfully chanting “Feeder! Feeder!” for the past half an hour were finally rewarded. A flashing light reflecting on a white Feeder logo on the stage backdrop built up the excitement, and when Feeder finally walked on stage and roared into Generation Freakshow opener Oh My, the crowd exploded.
We now noticed that Feeder had upgraded their stage set up from the simplistic one in their previous tour, with some nice floor lights and animations played on an LED screen adding to the atmosphere. After the opener, things only got more mental with their second song, well-loved hit Insomnia. The crowd around me was screaming along to every word and jumping around like their lives depended on it. The middle portion of the set consisted of a good mix of old hits and newer material. Particular highlights included Feeling A Moment and Renegades, which frontman Grant Nicholas dedicated to the members of the crowd who had seen them during their previous tour. The cheer suggested that a large number of their loyal fans were in that group. Their signature song Buck Rogers came 11 songs in, just as the crowd were starting to get tired, and whipped the audience up into a frenzy once again.
Feeder closed their set with a selection of songs from their latest album Generation Freakshow, interrupted by their hit single High, which earned a spectacular response. The titular track from their new album ended proceedings to rapturous cheers from the crowd.
Grant returned to the stage alone for the encore, and accompanied by only his guitar and a piano entered into a stripped down version of Children Of The Sun with the video playing on the screen behind him. This more intimate moment added a great contrast to their usually energetic performances, and the song was then completed when the remainder of the band came on stage for the latter half of it. Grant then thanked the crowd for their support and said that as it was the last show of the tour they would play some older tracks for the “anoraks”. Feeder then launched into a trio of older tracks; Sweet 16, Descend and Shade. These were extremely well received by half the crowd, but left the other half, which I’m ashamed to say included me, wondering what the hell was going on. I found the songs enjoyable nonetheless though. After this walk down memory lane, Grant explained that the band would be going away for a while and that this would be their last gig for a long time. When Grant then said; “This is our last song,” everyone knew what was coming, and every single member of the audience roared the intro to Just A Day with Grant and jumped around as they had to no other song in the set, their energy levels momentarily restored. At the end of the song Feeder laid down their instruments and joined the crowd in their applause, thanking them with waves and soaking in the incredible atmosphere. Feeder had treated us to an absolutely spectacular show, and I for one really hope that they don’t go away for too long.
