It’s a pleasantly mild Friday evening and it’s time for Welsh metal reggae icons Skindred to bring their infectious energy to the Wembley OVO arena. It’s clear that the band draws some colourful characters; fans walking around in not just black metal t-shirts but also neon trousers, punk patched jackets, and the odd wacky fur coat. I even spot several families with their young children also clad in Skindred band tees.
The night starts with As Everything Unfolds, an English alternative band led by vocalist Charlie Rolfe who is clad in a pair of pigtails and belting her heart out with incredible, clear vocals (and the occasional scream!). Though a fairly short line-up, the group give a high-energy performance and the crowd respond in turn jumping up and down along with Rolfe. Beginning with the song ‘Slow Down’ they lead on with ‘Hiding from Myself’ and then an energetic performance of ‘Flip Side’. Lead guitarist Adam Kerr occasionally pulls out a fun spin and notably, Jon Cassidy on synths bopping up and down, matching the energy up despite having to be ‘stuck’ to his keyboard. Rolfe takes some time to speak with the crowd, hyping them up for P.O.D and Skindred before mentioning that she has been part of the crowd here in the arena in the past and the “incredible journey” to finally being up on the stage. As they play the grand-sounding ‘Felt Like Home’ I think that the song is befitting of an arena this size. As Everything Unfolds then ends their set with ‘On the Inside’, Rolfe impressively switches between clean vocals and heavy screams.
Next is P.O.D., nu-metal veterans and the only group on the line-up from the US. Vocalist Sonny Sandoval is packed full of charisma as he jumps around the stage with incredible energy. They start their set with ‘DROP’ followed by the classically nu-metal ‘Boom’. You can see why the band are the perfect support for Skindred as the crowd begins chanting their name “P.O.D.! P.O.D.!” After playing a few more tracks including ‘Rock the Party (Off the Hook) and ‘Soundboy Killa’. Sandoval pauses to get the arena to sing happy birthday to Tatiana, vocalist of Jinjer before breaking into ‘AFRAID TO DIE’ the song that she features on. It is the perfect track for the crowd as they wave their hands and sing along with the crowd’s vocal chorus. Sandoval also takes some time to introduce the members of the band; Traa Daniels on bass, Marcos Curiel on guitar and drummer Alex Lopez who after leaving Suicide Silence, now joins P.O.D. as their live drummer. Sandoval’s energy continues to be contagious even as I now stand at the back of the arena and before they finish with ‘Alive’ he sends out the message to the crowd “You are made for greatness, London. You are loved, London”.
After a break and the audience is ready with their interval beers, it is time for the main event. The huddle of press photographers is all grouped up at the side of the stage as we hear the famous Star Wars ‘Imperial March’. We watch the band members walk onto the stage before finally, lead vocalist Benji Webbe struts on in a long black coat and a large black Union Jack Skindred flag. We quickly see why we were held back as colourful confetti blasts out into the crowd as they begin to play ‘Set Fazers’. The photographers rush forward, catching every moment we can as the confetti falls and Skindred plays through the classics ‘Pressure’ and ‘Ratrace’, the incredible energy infectious as the crowd bangs their heads and dances along.
It’s clear very quickly that it’s going to be an exciting and entertaining night as Benji stops to speak between songs, often punctuated by comical air horn sounds, each interval as funny as the next moving from song to crazy mashup including their classic mashup of Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ and ‘Jump Around’ by House Of Pain followed by a hilarious dubstep remix of I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ by The Proclaimers. Then, before they can move on to their uplifting ‘L.O.V.E. (Smile Please’ “This is not just a concert but a celebration of life” as inflatable, coloured balls are thrown into the crowd.
Webbe then introduces the beautiful ‘If I Could’ as a song that he wrote during a difficult period during the pandemic. This is then followed by another Benji interval; He speaks about his family as some comically sad strings play in the background but despite the joking manner the end message is “no matter who you are, white, black, gay straight…you can rock.”
The band carries on with the same energy, Benji’s voice is powerful as he belts through ‘Kill the Power’, ‘Life That’s Free’, an amazing Drum and Bass rendition of ‘Nobody’ and ending this section with ‘Gimme That Boom’. The final encore gives us the track ‘Our Religion’ followed by the final song of the night ‘Warning’ which prompts the crowd to do the “Newport Helicopter” by swinging their shirts in the air, the perfect end to an energy-filled night.
Written by: Chiara Fulgoni
Photographed by: Chiara Fulgoni
Edited by: Ilse Muis
