Saints of Sin/White Coast Rebels

The Joiner Arms, Southampton

Saints Of Sin fans had been waiting for this night for some time.

The EP “The Seven Deadly Sins” had a plethora of publicity leading up to the release, with the band recording seven teaser videos for each of the seven sins (gluttony, sloth, lust, greed, wrath, envy and pride), culminating in the release of an epic mini-film extravaganza which brought it all together via Facebook a few days before this gig.

The venue was packed, and there was palpable excitement in the air as we waited patiently to a cracking soundtrack of early Soundgarden tunes. Eventually, the lights went down and the band appeared on the stage, frontman Rui dressed in a druid cloak, a girl on either side of him, one dressed as an angel, the other in a devil’s costume. The girls threw Saints of Sin wristbands into the audience whilst the intro played and then in a flash of lights the evening kicked off in style with “Last Goodnight”, the first track off of the EP. The temperature in the room seemed to shoot up straight away as the crammed-in audience got straight on board, and the roar of applause that went up at the end of the song was gratifying.

Saints Of Sin 1–2–3

There was some great interplay with the audience from Rui and the guys, specifically with some ladies at the front and the atmosphere really just felt like one big party, whilst they romped through tracks such as “Homewrecker” and “One Last Time” before slowing it down with the ballad “Heroin”. The bruising “On Top Of My World” followed and after “Judgement Day”, Rui announced a birthday, inviting the birthday boy on to the stage to do a beer bong. He was nowhere to be found, so somebody else was pulled out to enjoy it instead.

“Animal” got the crowd jumping and they carried on into a storming cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. The band were obviously enjoying playing as much as we were enjoying watching them, everybody got totally into the spirit of the night and it was fantastic fun. After a quick plug of the EP, Rui seeming to remember why we were all there for just a minute, anthemic crowd pleaser “One More Minute” had everyone bouncing again. A euphoric finish came in the form of the sensational “Burn The Clubs Down” and then, much to our regret, the Saints left the stage to rapturous applause.

I am somewhat biased as I love this band, but each time I see them, they seem to be getting better and better; even in the few short weeks since I last saw them at Hospices Rock in March they sound more polished, their performance flawless, some perfect interaction with the crowd really sealing an immense gig.

White Coast Rebels 1

It was always going to be difficult for anyone to follow a performance like that, but headliners White Coast Rebels did their best, their brand of old-school rock drawing a reasonable crowd back from the bar. Normally based in the Spanish party resort of Benidorm, WCR performed a solid set, featuring tracks from their 2013 album “Hangin’ With the Bad Boys” including the title track of the same name, “Lock Up Your Daughters” and “Nightmare”.

Overall it was a fantastic night, hot, sweaty and great fun and judging by the queue at the merch stand after SOS’s set, I should imagine they sold a fair few copies of the EP and the other merchandise (I have to confess I am now the proud owner of an SOS keyring). Saints of Sin are on course for a stellar rise to the top and if you haven’t yet seen them, make it a priority whilst they’re out and about on the road.

Set-List
Intro
Last Goodnight
All Night Long
Homewrecker
One Last Time
Feed The Fire
Heroin
On Top Of My World
Judgement Day
Animal
Sweet Child Of Mine (Guns n’Roses)
One More Minute
Burn The Clubs Down

Videos