After a summer hitting some of the biggest festivals in the UK last summer including Download, Great Escape and Radar, and tours last year supporting As It Is and Vukovi, Artio are getting noticed in the scene – notice that they very much deserve – and their London show went a long way to show why.
From the beginning of the gig it was clear that things were going to be a bit different; it was a delight to see a front row half-filled with folks in wheelchairs or seated. Accessibility is something the music scene drastically needs to improve on and bands like Artio plus contempories Mallavora and Alt Blk Era are leading the push for it to happen sooner rather than later. Even little changes like when calling for popular (or unpopular depending on how bad the crowd’s knees are) “everybody get down”, singer Rae instead shouts “Everyone who can, get down!”. A small change, but important.
Artio at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Artio at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Dear Tash at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Dear Tash at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Dear Tash at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon 
Dear Tash at The Dome, London – photo by Artemi Falzon
Managing to pack 16 songs in along with guest appearances from Dear Tash for ‘Head in the Sand, Finger on the Trigger’ and Patty and Ben from As It Is for ‘Full on Fight for Fun!’ the band show off plenty from the new album, Soul Rot, while keeping a good helping of their older tracks, and even added ‘Soda’ on to the setlist due to popular request from fans. A call out against the use of AI – exclaiming that art comes from the soul, something that AI will never be able to reproduce – receives a suitably loud cheer and applause.
Before they’d even finished setting up its made clear that tour support High Regard have fans in the crowd, with chanting for band members Jev, Matt and Tom while they’re doing their line checks. Bathed in green light throughout, High Regard keep the energy high from opening track ‘Life Sentence’ to finishing heavy hitters ‘See Me’ and ‘Dead To Me’, keeping the crowd moving and moshing while they spin and rock out on stage. Leaving to chants of “High Regard!”, they’ve thoroughly warmed up the crowd ready for headliners Artio.
Openers Dear Tash blends alt pop and rock, including a heavier, darker cover of La Rouxs ‘Going in for the Kill’ and soon to be released ‘City of Angels’. Heavy track ‘Black Hole’ had an audience member putting their gumshield in (safety first!) ready for the mosh pit that soon erupted, and her guitar strap coming undone to chants of “sabotage!” added a probably unwanted, but fitting effect.
Artio + High Regard Soul Rot Tour Dates:
11/03 – Nottingham, Rough Trade
12/03 – London, The Dome
19/03 – Glasgow, Audio
20/03 – Leeds, The Key Club
21/03 – Manchester, Deaf Institute
06/04 – Bristol, The Croft