By Jim Templeton-Cross, Rock At Night London Correspondent and Chyrisse Tabone, Rock At Night Tampa Correspondent
Venue: O2 Academy-Islington,London–May 13, 2016
Rock At Night has been following The Treatment since we heard the band’s third release Generation Me, which included new lead singer Mitchel Emms of The Voice fame. Possibly because of this, fans had been a bit skeptical and the band had to “prove” they could carry-on without Matt Jones. Afterall, this was the band with a lengthy history of touring with the likes of Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Motley Crue.
The Treatment released Generation Me on March 18th and embarked on a UK tour with rocking Scottish trio The Amorettes,ending it in London on May 13th. Rock At Night interviewed guitarist Tagore Grey about the band and its tour in February.
On May 13th the O2 Academy Islington was packed with people buzzing and awaiting The Treatment’s last gig of its UK tour before heading to Denmark the next day for the Nordic Noise Rock Festival.
First up, was The Amorettes (Rock At Night missed 80s favorite Airrace, who appeared before we arrived). The three lasses were a pleasant surprise and got the crowd warmed up with songs from their album Game On. Highlights included “Get What’s Comin’” and “Bull By the Horns”. As an aside note, the band will be releasing its crowd-funded album White Hot Heat on June 27th.
The Treatment then put the lead to the floor when the hot rod-of-a-concert began with its hit single “Let It Begin” from Generation Me. As the recognizable electric guitar riff began and the chorus “You can’t stop this runaway train…” the crowd roared and cheered. Guitar brothers Tao and Tagore Grey commanded the power chord and guitar riffs while spiky Mohawk-wearing Rick “Swoggle” Newman pranced and plucked the bass with fury. Dhani Mansworth commanded the drum kit, pounding relentlessly with the beat. The concert was not only cruising but was in full overdrive as they proceeded into “Cry Tough” with the chant “fight, fight, fight”. People were head bopping and fist pumping as The Treatment’s new lead singer Mitchel Emms obviously won over the audience of initially skeptical “vikings”. He has a strong voice and a great range necessary for holding long “rock star”wails and screams, often using them in while chatting with the audience.
After “Bloodsucker” Emms spoke to the audience and expressed his appreciation for the warm welcome and support saying “There’s a lot of people that talk about keeping rock’n’roll alive but it is people like YOU–thanks to you—you’ll keep rock’n’roll alive!” As he was speaking it was difficult to hear above all the screams, whistles, and cheers. He proceeded to introduce the next song “Generation Me” by wailing the title as the music came down like a ton of bricks.
Some of the highlights included the crowd’s reaction to Emms climbing into the audience and girls almost fainting with joy. After the song “Drink F**ck, Fight” the crowd was worked up into a large moshing frenzy, which continued until the end of the set with “Shake Your Mountain”. At this point, the crowd cheered, stomped, and screamed for the encore. Guitarist Tagore Grey tromped onstage with a horned Viking hat and the band jumped right into “Get the Party On”. That it did—for a good 90 minutes the band played down-home, good ol’ rock’n’roll, proving it is here to stay.
Rock At Night’s interview with Tagore Grey
Members: Mitchel Emms – Vocals, Tagore Grey – Guitar, Tao Grey – Guitar, Dhani Mansworth – Drums, Rick ‘Swoggle’ Newman – Bass;Genre: Classic Rock/Rock/Punk; Home Town: Cambridge
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