We caught the Brighton pop-punks As It Is on their latest tour ‘Ben Today, Gone Tomorrow’ at Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, on 10th November. The tour consisted of 11 intimate shows that took place throughout November, across Europe and the UK. As It Is were supported by Miss Vincent on the European dates and by Survive Said The Prophet on the UK dates.
Survive Said The Prophet
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The purpose of this tour was for the band to send off founding member and guitarist Ben Langford-Biss on a high note, after his decision to step down from the band. This final farewell tour, ‘Ben Today, Gone Tomorrow’, was an opportunity to play together one last time and allow the fans to take their turn in saying goodbye.
The band played a mixture of older and newer songs, a set-list exclusively chosen by Ben. The set was much less structured in terms of performance and song choices – It was, however, great to see them be themselves without having to worry about the show structure, as it all added up to what felt like a bunch of friends rocking out together and having fun. The guys even exchanged roles, with Patty taking the guitarist’s position and Ben that of the band’s front man for a couple of songs, showing us a different, rawer side of As It Is.
There definitely were many emotional moments, both in terms of music and between the band themselves. The guys spoke out about Ben’s decision and expressed their love and support, with Patty taking the lead, and later with Ben sharing his appreciation towards his experience, the band and the fans.
As It Is
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The support and respect for each other filled up the room, with the audience playing an important role – it was very refreshing to see the audience and fan-base being so supportive and respectful. Another thing that was greatly appreciated (by everyone, including the band and myself) was how great and respectful the security at Rescue Rooms were, especially since there was very high energy and excitement throughout the night. It’s always hard seeing band members leaving, especially one of the founding members, who were there since the beginning. I’m sure the As It Is fans will need some time to adjust to this change, but everyone is supportive, which is what is important.
It is the end of an era, and an emotional one, for sure. We want to wish Ben all the best in this new chapter of his life and career, and we’re excited to see what the future brings for him and the boys in As It Is.
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Review + Photos by Andrea Pavlou // Full gallery on www.andreaxpavlou.com