Triggerfinger are really not your average rock band. They consist of guitarist/lead singer Ruben Block, drummer Mario Goossens and bassist Paul Van Bruystegem, who goes by the nicknames of Lange Polle or Monsieur Paul. They are not very conventional looking either, for your average rock band who are only now beginning to win real acclaim for their music. The lead singer looks like he could be your best mates Dad, bassist Paul Van Bruystegem looked a bit like a burly bodyguard/West End bouncer – with his large frame, bald head and don’t-mess-with-me vibe which he gives off, behind his dark glasses, although judging from his facial expressions throughout the gig, we think he might be a bit of a joker and certainly seemed full of life! We could hardly see the drummer Mario from where we were standing, but we could see his hands waiving and causing a whirlwind of noise and rock from the back of the stage.
Triggerfinger are a band who have gone about earning their fan base and developing their live set, by years of working and putting in the hard work, having spent years touring clubs, pubs, festivals and dive bars across Europe. This summer has seen them playing some highly prestigious shows, including being chosen as the warm-up act for The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park! That is some incredible feat and a long way from the dive bars of Antwerp, which shows just how far Triggerfinger have come.
There is no questioning their musical ability or their on-stage charisma and their larger than life characters and persona could be seen and felt from every song played. Each one of them brings something unique to the band and their songs were simply brilliant slices of rock and roll energy. It is somewhat bizarre that they are only really becoming to the fore of the music scene now, as it feels like these guys should have been brought to the publics attention many years ago! Despite being more on the mature side, this band have enough energy to keep up with any of the twenty something rock-bands who are around at the moment.
Stand out songs from the set included the fantastic All This Dancin’ Around and our absolute favourite song of theirs – Let It Ride, which their fans absolutely adored and it sounded fantastic live. The fans in the Borderline consisted mainly of bearded and long-haired, real rock lovers and you could imagine any one of the crowd being serious musicians who are also in bands themselves and they were engrossed from the start of their set to the end. It was a real treat to see them in such a small and intimate setting of the sweat-covered, red and black lit rock venue that is the Borderline – a place where so many iconic artists have played and we always love coming here. The iconic feel of the place is never in doubt and you are reminded of this as you walk in through the main doors and have to pass the artists wall, which feature signed photographs of the likes of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, R.E.M, Sheryl Crowe and Damien Rice, to name a few great artists who have played on the stage.
Triggerfinger really do need to headline their own stadium shows, as the Borderline was too small a venue for their anthemic songs, which bounced all over the tiny venue! This was a pure rock and roll gig in every sense, amazing musicians, great songs, strong personalities and enough fire in their belly to give them the edge over similar bands in their field. The audience lapped up every song – we saw couples kissing, beer being thrown into the air, plenty of people crowd-surfing, a mini mosh-pit and long-haired rockers losing themselves in the moment of every song, everything that you would get from a rock and roll gig, but in a much condensed setting.
Although the sound system wasn’t that great and there was some bad reverb at times, it was an absolute pleasure seeing them playing performing, as their atmospheric bluesy-tinged rock songs soar when they are heard live and the energy on their albums really does come to life when they are performing. We adore their latest album All This Dancin’ Around and we will look out for them as they have a very exciting musical journey ahead!
