by Emma

Stretch Arm Strong – Leeds Joseph’s Well – 16th January 2006

Stretch Arm Strong descended with a fury upon the small but packed Joseph’s Well and what a performance!

It seemed that the main band were almost in danger of being upstaged by support band hardcore punkers With Honor, who blitzed an excitable crowd with tracks from their awesome third album This Is Our Revenge. With Honor had a great interaction with the audience and sported a wicked sense of humour! The room filled out for the Conneticut five-piece, who use their music as a vehicle to convey meaningful messages, much like popular peers Rise Against. Their set is high spirited and so impressive that I immediately bought a copy of This Is Our Revenge.

So, could Stretch Arm Strong keep up with the pace set by their supporting act? Yes, they just about managed it! Another fusion of hardcore and punk, Stretch Arm Strong proved to be well worth seeing. Vocalist Chris McLane gave it his all – making huge efforts to talk to the crowd and have them jumping up and down and air-punching along with them. Favorite tracks performed included an awesome rendition of Hearts On Fire from the Free At Last album, and fans ripped up the front of the crowd during older track We Bleed from the 2003 Engage album.

Many fans broke a sweat and thoroughly enjoyed the show, I would definitely recommend watching either of these two bands if the opportunity comes your way.

Emma