Domingo 24 Feb 2008, 18:18
Sat 23 Feb – Hey Colossus, LORDS OF BASTARD
Firstly, huzzah for locally promoted gigs. I've decided they're my new favourite thing. Last night was a bargain- £5 for 5 bands? Awesome.
Naked Shit were first up. Apparently the slowest death metal band around? The set was one long song which lasted about 15minutes I think. With 2 drummers and a guitarist wearing a horse head mask, they did their bit and it was interesting. The music built and built starting out with the guitarist making wonderfully eerie noises with his e-bow. Then the drums began to kick in and they were off! I don't reckon they were particularly death metal however; I think Weasy's description of "stoner type wankery" fits them quite adequately. The drumming was mesmerizing; being a closet percussionist myself I found myself more drawn to the rhythm than the guitar which did it's thang. Interesting stuff. I look forward to hearing the 80minute 1 track CD that Weasy bought for a mere £6.
Next up were a bunch of indie boyz! But oh no! Don't read a book by it's cover…Hello noisy post rock stuffs in the form of Mesa verde
…3 guitars seemed a bit excessive. These guys could play their instruments, and yes, the vocalist could scream. But…they just weren't Youthmovies. Shame really, because I thought after the first track, even with the 3 guitars, that they could have been freaking brilliant. I did enjoy their set. Probably a lot more than my companions as I like the whole math rock esque vibe, but I don't need no screaming cheers. I'm glad I saw them…but erk. The whole screamo aspect that seeped into their music spoilt the icing on what could have been a very nice cake.
Lords of Bastard were the local band of the evening and were really well received. Currently working on an album, they blasted out some rifftastic (yes, I just wrote "rifftastic) choonz. Guitarist Mike made up for the rest of the bands lack of hair by swooshing his all over the place whilst playing some good fucking rock and roll. There were similarities to other artists, but to be honest, I couldn't quite put my finger on who! These guys were good. No nonsence stuff. No outrageous time signatures, no weird linking sections that go off on random tangents: Just straight up music! I don't know how else to describe it without rambling on for ages. Definately worth a listen…Kinda made me want to play guitar hero after their set…
I had no idea what to expect when Tractor (Currently, they are not on last.fm. The other Tractor band are a prog rock band from the 70's) took to the stage. About 10seconds into their set, I was pleased to discover that they were a lot like Shellac. Fucking GREAT. Repetative bass lines, pounding drumming and heavy guitars that I'm sure Albini would love. Plus, the vocals literally screeeeamed Albini at me. I was just waiting for the guy to launch into "THIS IS A SAD FUCKING SONG. I THINK I MIGHT BUST OUT CRYIN'". Only thing I didn't like about this band was the staring bassist who looked like Agent Smith and had a weird vein popping out of his forehead. I was quite pleased I could hide behind the guy infront to avoid his scary eyes. Managed to pick up a free (FREE!) demo after the gig; I've yet to listen but I'm looking forward to it. Brilliant, best surprise of the evening by a long shot!
EDIT: http://www.superfirecords.co.uk/tractor
Website for Tractor! You can download 4 cracking MP3's from there for freeeeee.
Last, but not least were Hey Colossus. How fucking heavy was their set? My ears are still ringing…They played a blinder of a set with bits of banter inbetween that had the crowd chuckling. They had to cut their set short sadly. Bleedin' pub. Still tho, we got 6 out of 8 songs. They were brilliant…And well worth checking out if you like sludgy noise. I look forward to hearing their stuff on vinyl. When that will be, I don't know. So for now, I'll have to stay content with listening to "Hey Colossus II".
Great evening.
Next up, Youthmovies, Dorian and Dead Meadow on March 3rd :)