“Hotter than an Austrian Dungeon...” Live Review: Fighting With Wire - The Freebutt on 18/05/08 - Man Vs Monster

Fighting With Wire [7/10]

Freebutt, Brighton

"It's hotter than an Austrian dungeon in here", casually notes frontman Cahir O'Doherty to a mixture of laughter, murmurs and downright disapproval. On a Sunday night, with the comedown from The Great Escape festival well and truly setting in, Derry's Fighting With Wire attempt to inject a final burst of energy to proceedings with their brand of balls-out, hardcore-influenced alt-rock. From the off, it's evident that FWW are a band in turmoil over becoming a hugely marketable radio-friendly success or an immensely credible underground leviathan. With a mixture of the abrasive ('My Armoury') and the serene ('Sugar'), here is a band undoubtedly adept at both. However, the more middle-of-the-road songs showcased tonight stray a little to close to the Foo Fighters to go unnoticed. That said, FWW live, with O'Doherty's impassioned guitar freak-outs on the more unconventional offerings, are both engaging and entertaining. Catch them before they explode.

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