I'm going to be brutally honest, when you leave the room after hearing a
band play a few songs, they can't be that special. And on this occasion,
for the first two bands, that's exactly what I did. Usually I get quite
angry at people who leave the room while someone is playing, but I was genuinely
bored and unimpressed. As was my companion.
Both bands were unimaginative and basic, playing punky rocky stuff that
anyone could have written. Both from Southampton, and both playing to
a few people who knew them at the front, and everyone else who was waiting
for something far more exciting.
The front-man of Dead Noise, Southampton's latest Russell Brand wannabe,
had the stage presence of a toilet roll holder, switching from hand-behind-back-screamo-stance
to cockney-walk to half-hearted-jumping-on-the-spot. The latter two aren't
impressive on the own, and the combination of the three is just painful
to watch. Dead Noise's saviour, was the guitarist. Genuinely the only
good thing about the band, great talent. I think without him, I might
have started work on a noose.
Black Andrew. The songs have potential but are executed poorly, that's
the main thing. The introductory guitar riffs sound like they could go
somewhere, but then the rest of it just doesn't blend. It's like somebody
bought a multi-pack of jigsaw puzzles and mixed them all together. When
they came to make a picture, they kept forcing the wrong pieces together.
The bits are all there, it's just a matter of really thinking about it
and putting something good together, you know what I mean? And maybe it's
just me, but the singer is trying too hard to be Tom Morello, sound-wise
and lyric-wise. Listening to their music on MySpace, they're not too bad,
but live, sorry guys, not impressed.
I'm not in a bad mood, honest, I just don't think these bands have really
got it all together yet. I'm sure it will come though, maybe I'll catch
them at a later date and see how things have moved on. Maybe even up and
out of Southampton, who knows.
Kick off the boys and bring on the men.
Last on, The Zico Chain, a band I'd managed to see live three times previously,
completely accidentally, supporting it seems, just about everyone they
could. Kerrang! Describes them as "what Nirvana would sound like
if Kurt Kobain had stayed in Sheffield and listened to Motorhead nonstop."
So yeah, that sums it up for you. It's like Nevermind, tuned down to drop-C,
and laced with acid. Fucking good though.
High energy riffs, and for a band who don't move around much except to
change rawk stance or flick hair out their eyes, an awesome sound. Even
if one riff sounds dangerously similar to No-One Knows by QOTSA, their
music has a bit of flare, particularly "Rohypnol." I'd go and
check out their EP if I was you, probably even just for this song alone.
I can't actually stress how good this is. In fact, maybe my opinion of
them is blinded purely by my love for this song. Who knows, but I'm going
to carry on rating them.
as always, the Drummer was on something and bashing away pulling stupid
grins and having a whale of a time, and the other two lads rocking out,
casually firing out powerful riffs and more rock than a bricklayer's convention.
Admittedly, the songs have a habit of sounding the same as each other,
but that's not the riffs that give that opinion, it's just the underlying
growl beneath every song, created by the guitar and bass, and the same
vocals that sound like he's been smoking fifty a day, and eating gravel
for lunch.
Other tracks included "Rollover," "Social Suicide,"
"The Lonely Ones," and I seem to remember something being mentioned
about paedophilia? Maybe I was dreaming that bit, still in a state of
begging for something innovative after the opening band.
All in all, very good, but I think maybe the Zico Chain should have brought
some bands with them. I'm all up for letting local live talent bloom,
but the only part of local live talent those bands have, is the local,
and unfortunately, live.
Review By Thom
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