As much as RTM would like to report that Helmet had somehow crossed over into the mainstream and sold out the main room at The Institute, the real, upsetting truth is that Cher Lloyd from the X Factor is here tonight along with a band of spotty Herbert’s called No Lights At Lockdown.
Unfortunately the hype surrounding the evenings real gig, the one we are here to see (and as an aside the doorman asks us what we are there to watch, despite RTM wearing a Thin Lizzy shirt…) is less pronounced. It has been moved into the tiny Temple Venue upstairs from the rather bigger library, and even still, despite a decent smattering, it’s far from sold out.
Still, Helmet main man Page Hamilton isn’t unduly bothered. Actually he seems in rather good spirits as he arrives jauntily onstage saying it is the “most intimate show of the tour” and asking if “Cher still does Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves.”
This is a celebration of Helmet’s past as much as looking to the future. It’s 20 years since their seminal moment “Meantime” was released, and they are here to play it in full. But not before they have warmed up with three others including “So Long” and “In Person” from 2010’s outstanding “Seeing Eye Dog” opus.
Soon, though, its “Meantime” errr time. But there’s a twist. They are playing it backwards. As much as that is a rather natty take on the current “Album tour” fad, it is, you suspect, for rather more prosaic reasons. Most of the crowd pleasing songs on the record are towards the start – although it is a consistently fine album that RTM still loves like we did in 92 - and any gig needs momentum.
So off we go with “Role Model” and backwards from there. Watching the set you are struck by three things. First, you marvel at how ahead of their time Helmet were as “Meantime” still sounds modern, second you remember just what an outstanding song “Unsung” is and third, you sit there thinking, “blimey, The Wildhearts were more inspired by this band than I had realised.” Ginger’s mob had covered the aforementioned “Unsung” but a lot of the riffs could have come off early ‘Hearts b-sides.
However, if The Wildhearts borrowed from Helmet, they could have reciprocated by giving the New Yorkers some of their legendary diversity. And a lot of the songs on show here do sound the same. Not that this in itself is a massive issue, after all bands as brilliant as AC/DC are hardly experimental are they? But when they come back for an encore that includes “Pure” they could actually be playing “Meantime” again.
The encore did, however include one of the great gig lines of 2012. Asked to dedicate a song to a couple that is getting married, Hamilton instead says: “Married? Imagine that? The same pussy for the rest of your life…” Best we leave the sentimental pop crap to the people next door at the Cher Lloyd gig, eh?
With that RTM walks back to the car, to find an excited gaggle trying to get autographs by a massive tour bus. We would be willing to bet these “people” (including a couple of grown blokes that you hope were on a register somewhere) weren’t hanging on for Helmet – but they were certainly tools.
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