PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Tonight at the Borderline was the launch party for the new album from Kobra and the lotus, as well as being the last night of their UK tour.
First up was Hornet, a young London rock band. They went down well with the crowd and put in a very good performance, using the small amount of space on the stage to maximum effect as they moved around, headbanged and generally put in a pretty energetic performance. At one point, the guitarist came out into the crowd and played before going back on stage and playing the guitar behind his back. While this did demonstrate skill, it went on too long and as a result their set lost a bit of momentum. A very good performance from Hornet.
Next up was The Mercy House, fresh from playing on the Jaegermeister acoustic stage at Bloodstock the previous evening. Tonight though was back to their normal set – no quiet acoustic stuff tonight. They were very loud and heavy, and put a lot of energy into their performance. They demonstrated one very important skill that all bands need – the ability to work the crowd. The singer did a great job of interacting with the crowd and getting them involved.
Tonight’s headliner was next up – Kobra and the lotus. The previous day had involved two performances at Bloodstock for them – opening the main stage, and playing an acoustic set of Dio covers on the Jaegermeister stage. Surprisingly the venue isnt packed out – probably too many people were at Bloodstock and simply dont have the energy to attend a gig.
The stage tonight was a fraction of the size of the Bloodstock main stage, but that clearly didnt bother the band – this is a band that is equally at home on small club stages and giant festival stages.
The band are all on form tonight and you can see from watching them that they’re thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. There’s plenty of headbanging from the guys and Kobra Paige prowls the stage engaging the crowd as she sings. Tonights setlist is as you’d expect, built largely around the new album. The album is great and the songs go down very well with the fans tonight. An excellent show from Kobra and the Lotus, and both support bands tonight.
It was nice to see that after the show finished, Kobra and the Lotus came out to the merch stand and were happy to pose for photos, sign CD’s, and generally chat to the fans – things like that really are appreciated by the fans so it’s nice when bands make the effort.
Kobra and the lotus setlist:
Nayana
Nothing good
Welcome to my funeral
Calm before the storm
Heaven’s veins
Forever one
My life
Dark passenger
Lover of the beloved
50 shades of evil
Encore:
Aria of Karmika
Hornet setlist:
Down to the bone
Drive on
State of emergency
I’m gonna be the man
Hunky dorey
Second hand smoke
Rock’n’roll riot
