Anyone that follows Mr William Francis, the man behind William Control, and the frontman of rock band Aiden knows of his fondness of this town, so it was lovely to have him back.
I've been a fan of him since I first saw Aiden play in 2006, and have gone to every London Aiden show since and nearly every WC show. I've grown up with him being my singer poster boy, needless to say I was incredibly excited!
I've never been to The Boston Arms before, which is in Tufnell Park, two stops from Camden, so I didn't really know what to expect venue wise. Back in the day Aiden used to sell out pretty big venues, but in recent years due to dwindling popularity venues have got smaller and smaller. It's generally always the same crowd at gigs which means he isn't necessarily bringing in any new fans, but the ones that he does have are dedicated and all know each other from the years of attending the same shows. It wasn't his most packed show, but it was definitely one of the best!
Support came from The Venus Defensive (who were awesome), Into the Ether and Ashes To Angels.
Ashes to Angels were an amazing warm up to William Control with Adam Crilly the front man going absolutely mental as if he was a rabid creature. (This is a good thing!) I've seen Ashes To Angels twice before as support for WC and they did not disappoint. If you like Goth/Rock/Pop you should definitely go see these guys. Recorded versions of their songs do not do them justice!
When William finally came on stage- minus Nick Wiggins (Aiden bassist and WC screamer) the crowd was hyped and I was so excited I was nearly bursting at the seams. He played all the hits including ' All Due Restraint,' 'Kiss me Judas,' 'Disconnected,' 'My Lady Dominate,' 'Velvet Warms and Binds,' ' Beautiful Loser,' 'Razors Edge,' 'Perfect Servant' and 'Strangers.' After disappearing off stage, he came back from an encore to sing 'I'm Only Human Sometimes' and 'London Town'. He pulled off gentleman swagger brilliantly and had the crowd eating out of his hands. It was one of the best set lists and gigs Mr Control has played in London and was the perfect event for a Saturday night.
Naturally after the gig I just had to go talk to him and get my obligatory picture with him. I collect them of sorts! ;)
