Review: A Silent Night at The Chapel

Opening up the night, C Hayez immediately owned the stage and performed like no one was watching and I have to say it was really admirable because he garnered audience participation and did not stop moving throughout his set. I personally really loved some of his bars and his flow even more, I think with more of an audience and more recognition, C Hayez can go to crazy places.

Next Up was Benji Romeo with his debut performance; the first thing I noticed is that he treated this set like an arena show with some set brought in and a performance that could’ve fit an audience in the thousands and I think that’s the greatest thing a small artist can do.

To me it shows that they have the stage presence and talent to take on a far greater audience. Along with this, the sound system was used to its fullest extent in this set with the range of the synth and bass hitting especially hard, so much so that there is nothing you can do apart from bop your head along to it.

Then came Malchijah, who dominated the crowd with his energy and insane rapping; switching it between songs so good that they could easily fit into General Levy’s reggae-rap style or Tupac’s gangsta-rap style. So for me this set was especially enjoyable, it felt like a real trip back to the nineties which I believe is the golden era of hip-hop; the beats often reflected this too, showing the real range of the sound system in there which made for a set that was fun, nostalgic and energetic all rolled into one.

Following up were Ephemera; this two piece absolutely rocked their set, with energy that surpassed anything I had seen up to that point. I’d like to say I liked their aesthetic and sound the most, the singer wore a pink balaclava and the bassist had an edgy and really cool makeup, I just loved everything about their performance, they were fierce and gave it their all. If you haven’t heard of this band I would seriously consider listening to them.

Bo Daphney came up next; I loved the way they gave it their all, being somewhat different from the rest of the line-up, they blended together hard rock with more lighter indie rock tones and I really liked it. The crowd and I definitely enjoyed their rendition of Creep by Radiohead, really hankering down on the heavy guitar for it. The energy was really brilliant and came to a head when the singer ended the set by smashing their guitar, going out with a bang.

Next up were co-headliner Hystamine and to me, the craziest thing is that this band isn’t bigger and more well known, although they gathered the biggest crowd of the night, they definitely belong on bigger stage because the energy they gave was beautifully reciprocated by the crowd opening up the mosh pit to their brutal alternative tunes that blasted through The Chapel. I seriously think with the right people at their gigs they will get picked up and taken places that give them one hell of a dedicated fanbase.

Finally were the mighty Silent Confidant; who as always created an absolute blitz of sound that positively melted the audience’s faces off. I really believe that these guys are just a true testament to passion and love of music because all these lads do is play with their hearts and share that heart with others.

As always they gave it their all and thanks to a much better audience this time round, Alex, the singer got his wish of a mosh-pit to their songs. The most beautiful moment came at the end of the gig however; just when everyone thought the show to be over, the crowd chanted for an encore and Silent Confidant happily obliged; pulling all the other artists of the night onto the stage in a strong emotional moment that felt like a real achievement for everyone there, in one the most tender and beautiful moments I’ve ever witnessed at a gig.

A Silent Night took place at The Chapel on 15 December 2023