Don't Look Away: The Plot In You storm 02 Kentish Forum
Lizzie Graddage | 14/11/2025
Amid the decaying pumpkins and the remnants of bonfire night, The Plot in You were getting ready to put on the performance of a lifetime at Kentish Town Forum.
The evening air was mild, contrasting perfectly with the sweltering temperatures inside Kentish Forum – and that was before any bands hit the stage!
Doors were a little early, opening at 6pm, but the venue packed out very quickly for NOLA nu-metal/metalcore opener Cane Hill who put on a pummelling set. Locked-in and relaxed, the band delivered powerful, tight tracks, with vocalist Elijah Witt transitioning between silky smooth vocals and emotive screams.
With understated movements flowing like a gentle dance, punctuated by mouthfuls of water sprayed into the sky as the drop punches in, it’s not hard to be charmed by this performance. Perfectly complimented with top-quality windmill from bassist Ryan Henriquez, Cane Hill perfectly pumped up the already eager crowd.
I last saw Cane Hill on tour in the US supporting brutal deathcore juggernauts Signs of the Swarm on their 10th anniversary tour and I am impressed to note how well they seem to fit on two quite different bills.
Next to hit the stage are OG emotional post-hardcore legends Saosin. A band who often have a spot or two on any ‘Big Sadz’ playlist I pull together when I need to get all up in my feels, and who I haven’t seen live in well over a decade!
I feel a bit out of the loop and wonder if they’ll play any of the songs that are particularly special to me. My little emo heart fills as they come straight out of the gates with several banger classics from 2006’s self-titled album, shooting me back into my younger self.
The instrumentation gets a bit lost in the wall of sound at times, which is a shame, but I know the catalogue well enough that my brain fills in the missing elements.
I let out an audible squeal when vocalist Cove Reber announces the band are about halfway through creating a brand new album, the first since 2016, and will be back to tour it for us some time next year. The rest of the crowd cheers with me and the band smash straight into ‘Voices’.
I try not to cry as the venue fills with a sea of sparkling torch lights, swaying to the tremendous life-affirming power of ‘You’re Not Alone’ and join the loudest singalong of the night so far with ‘Seven Years’, following a well-received shout out to the old school Saosin Day Ones.
Reber sounds fantastic and exudes charisma as he delivers some free-flowing dance moves from beneath his classic 90’s bucket hat, though I can’t shake the feeling that something’s bothering him today. Guitarist Beau Burchell works hard to lift the mood with big grins and enthusiasm, attempting to draw the rest of the band into displays of on-stage chemistry, but I am left wondering if it’s been ‘one of those days’.
Saosin provides an ideal setlist for me in the short time they have, though I do wonder if there is anything to read into their decision to play almost an entire set from one record; are they giving these older songs a last airing before moving forward into a new era or sound? Perhaps I’m overthinking it…
The final support act tonight are Currents, a top five band for me and one I’ve seen many times over the last few years. I had the pleasure of meeting drummer Matt Young through a mutual friend at a festival this summer and I am still wincing at how hard I FANGIRLED.
The New EP ‘All that Follows’ came out on Friday and I’m excited to hear three of the new songs in their ten song set. Future classics, no doubt.
I have never seen Currents deliver anything less than a top quality show and tonight is no different. There is an instant change in the energy on stage and the crowd on the main floor explode into a swell of pits and bouncing heads at the first strains of Living in Tragedy.
A special mention to whoever is running their lighting rig tonight because they are bringing the HEAT!
Bassist Christian Pulgarin delivers some of the biggest and most enjoyable zoomies I’ve seen since Japanese experimental metal band Paledusk spin-kicked their way into my heart at Tech Fest in 2023. Barely stopping for a breath, he throws himself and his guitar around the whole stage with such style and glee that you just cannot help but smile through the whole set. Whatever brand of coffee this man is drinking, please order me some!
The third song in the set, ‘Remember Me’, is another big-hitter on the ‘Big Sadz’ rotation and becomes a particular personal highlight when it opens the flood gate to a wave of crowd surfers, a fascinating response to a song that has been known to make water fall out of my face.
Now fully juiced, the whole venue is coiled ready for the eagerly awaited headliners, The Plot in You, who are back for more after their sold-out 2024 run.
As if anticipation isn’t high enough, fog and atmospheric lighting kicks in, revealing simple staging including a small armchair, floor lamp and old-style TV, reminiscent of an archetypal Nan’s living room.
Bass begins to rumble through the speakers and fills the room as it vibrates through my core and oscillates the air around us. The low, thundering, weighted-blanket of noise, accompanied by surges of TV static wraps around me like a hug. Red lights flash in time with building drums as the band joins the stage. I feel like I’m about to burst! An intense scream and ‘Don’t Look Away’ drops like an atom bomb. I wish I could rewind it and experience it all again.
The stage is divided in two, with drummer Michael Cooper, bassist Ethan Yoder and guitarist Josh Childress occupying a large riser stretching across the entire back half and vocalist Landon Tewers pacing and writhing around the lower front half.
The split-level isolates Landon and I can only imagine how exposing and uncomfortable it must be to bare your soul to a room full of strangers standing on what could feel at this point like an empty stage. It’s no surprise, then, that he squeezes his eyes closed for the majority of the first few songs, adding to an engaging sense of genuine vulnerability that pairs perfectly with the content and delivery and completely draws me in.
The crowd reminds Landon that they’re whole-heartedly behind him, shouting ‘choose a side!!’ at the top of their lungs during super-catchy ‘Divide’.
Childress and Yoder come down to join Landon a few songs into the set but, aside from some flurries of flare during the heaviest moments, they maintain a very understated, chilled out presence.
Landon asks for a show of hands – “Who has never crowd surfed in their life? Get up here, now’s your chance.” He says it in such a sweet, sunny and encouraging way that really, how could you say no?! The surfers come thick and fast.
A few songs later and ‘Not Just Breathing’ from 2018’s album DISPOSE, a record I’m less familiar with than more recent releases, hits with such haunting, heartbreaking sadness that it’s an instant addition to my favourites list. I am a sucker for a well-placed vocal cry but this is elite. I queue it for my journey home and know that I’ll be listening to it on repeat.
A well-placed gear change to the bright and bouncy ‘Been Here Before’ gets the crowd jumping with its pop punk-tinged vibes and cleanses the palette.
Next, sitting on Nan’s chair under the lamp, Landon is handed an acoustic guitar. “Wanna hear some emo shit?” A resounding YES floods the building as sounds of rain and thunderstorms crackle out over the soft tones of ‘Silence’ before the band return for an impassioned explosion into the main song.
We hear an excited, blood curdling scream from the balcony in a quiet moment between songs. The crowd laugh and scream back and Landon misses his cue into the next song, chuckling “y’all fucked me up” before we get stuck into ‘Time Changes Everything’, another crowd singalong hit.
The old-style TV in the corner begins to flash again and we are told that this will be the last song, the actual last, no encore, which is met with light-hearted boos. So, we sing our hearts out one last time to ‘FEEL NOTHING’ as the valiant security staff put in one final shift of scooping up crowd surfers and the night draws to a close.
Watching the set as a first-timer who knows little about the band’s background, this performance very much feels like it is Landon’s show. Everyone plays well and guitarist Childress, in particular, scatters in some sauce in places, but the strong tendency for the band to take up minimal space throughout the set, both physically and energetically, as well as limited interaction with each other or the audience leads me onto Google to find out if TPiY is in fact a solo project.
I discovered that whilst it did start that way, they have been a full band for a very long time. Meaning, then, that the space around Landon is so noticeable and consistent that it absolutely must be an intentional, choreographed choice.
I relax and now begin to see what I presume to be the thought process behind this; there is limited gloss and distraction to dial me out of the intimacy of Landon’s performance. At times he could be the only other person in the room.
A rare and unusual magic that conjures a deeper experience of connection to the music and understanding of the place that it comes from and a beauty that will undoubtedly keep fans rushing back to sell out their shows time and time again.
On my way home I notice that I’ve said very little about drummers tonight and realise how far removed they have all felt from the action, perched up on such a high riser in a venue this size. I wonder if they’ve felt the same.
Reflecting more generally, I remind myself that touring is a tough and tiring job and I’m blessed to have shared in the universally high emotional energy that made every band on this bill feel special. It’s been a true privilege to share in a beautiful collection of songs tonight with a stunning line-up of talented artists and a passionate, vocal crowd. I finish my journey with a grin on my face, feeling moved, cleansed and restored.
Catch this stellar lineup of bands with their collection of crowd-pleasing, festival-style sets on tour in Europe until they wrap things up in Poland on the 19th November.
As ever, a huge thank you to the Good As Gold team for giving us the opportunity to review! <3