Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors’ gig at The Borderline was awesome. I have known Ryan, Mickey and Rob for years. I have worked with the guys during People on Vacation and through other artists. Finally after a lot of ups and downs, they have found themselves and their music.
They are a band of brothers who by some miracle, with their different styles in music, have managed to come together to produce something that is truly rare. As they even say themselves “this should not work”. They are like the Jedi of music, which is another reason I love the album cover.
A lot of people have come to hear about this band due to the fact Ryan released a charity single with Ginger Wildheart in December to raise awareness of, and funds for, suicide prevention. This has been a massive success and has led to a fantastic relationship between the two.
Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors released their album, The Devil’s In The Detail earlier this year (reviewed on this very site, of course). This was actually recorded and produced in the UK, more specifically a converted castle in Scotland.
Amy and I were looking forward to seeing them again not just as friends but also to see how they have grown as a band and family. We of course listened to the new album a couple of times online, in the car, while at work… needless to say, a lot! We have thoroughly enjoyed every beat. It is a great album and gains new fans everyday especially with the fantastic of Kerrang Radio and other outlets.
The gig was awesome and we found ourselves smiling during the show. It’s like watching your crazy brother on stage playing their favourite tunes and just having the time of their life. If it goes wrong, cover it with banter and carry on; if it goes right, stop and congratulate yourselves. You cannot but feel inspired by these guys. Ryan loves to chat to the audience, and he always has a great response to any comments shouted out.
The music has an amazing feel-good factor and all aspects of their music is addictive. Ryan is very charismatic and is a perfect frontman, knowing how to entertain the crowd with witty banter as well as his angelic (OK, a bit much there!), but amazing singing voice. This is a very talented band with individually talented musicians that are producing some awesome alternative rock music which I think keeps getting better and better.
The set list included: “Heavy Heart”, “Smarter”, “Scottish Mud”, “We Should Never Have Moved To LA”, “4 Letter Verb”, “Truth on Tape”, “Freak Flag”, and “Ode To The Idiots”.
One tune that they played which I personally love is “Records and Needles”. I listen to this on repeat and think that the video to it is brilliant, but this was the first time that I heard it live and I have to say that usually a tune like this is normally better on record, but hearing it live brought more out of it.
They also played, much to my delight again, “Be Kind, Rewind”, and Ryan announced that Dave, the guitarist who was also the producer of the album, had complained that they would have to play that song. Dave then flicked the Vs to the crowd and a good humoured cry of “Fuck you, Dave” was thrown back in his direction. This theme of “Fuck you, Dave” carried on throughout the evening. Ryan said that he was looking forward to seeing the hashtag #fuckyoudave on social media… I it I jumped in straight away.
I basically recommend this band to anyone. A band that will make you feel happy no matter what may be happening or how you feel. Come on, be a Traitor!
Photos by Amy Harris-Abbott of CE Photography
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