Oxford Zodiac
28/01/06
The opening band of such a mighty touring package as this evening’s may appear almost irrelevant in the eyes of many – particularly those squeezing themselves into this modestly spaced venue shortly before 7pm. Clearly no one has bothered to tell this to Philadelphia trio Stinking Lizaveta, who with a hyperactive blend of electric style blues and good old fashioned rock and roll quickly win over the rapidly growing audience.
Clutch may have been alive and kicking within rock’s inner circles for over a decade now, but it’s abundant this evening that neither their blinding spark nor rabid fan base have any plans of dying out in the near future. Front man Neil Fallon stomps and jives his way across the stage throughout, and though their occasionally long-winded jams succeed only in slowing down an otherwise energetic set; crowd igniting renditions of The Mob Goes Wild and The Incomparable Mr. Flannery show that when the chips are down, Maryland’s finest are still capable of producing a winning hand.
However, it’s obvious that veteran rock heroes Corrosion of Conformity are the real stars on display tonight. Having been away from UK shores for almost a decade, the air is thick with anticipation right up until the moment the quartet stride onstage in unexpected silence. “We’re Corrosion of Conformity from North Carolina, and this is what we fucking do!” announces main man Pepper Keenan before launching into the opening riff of the explosive Paranoid Opioid. From here on in, Keenan and co produce an hour of flawless and near untouchable hard rocking delights. Treasured classics Clean My Woundsand Thirteen Angels are wheeled out to the ecstasy of all in attendance as beers are raised and horns are thrown from band and crowd alike; and with In the Arms of Godproviding a touching tribute to the tragically departed Dimebag Darrell, almost five hundred people are left safe in the knowledge that they have witnessed the return of one of metal’s true class acts.
Welcome back, boys.
Australia is not really that famous for it’s rock and roll, well i guess The Saints are probably up there in my own personal opinion but they were more of a punk band anyway. But, now Wolfmother have taken Australia by storm and they are growing in your territory as i type this review. On a recent surf trip, i met a few Aussies (always my favourite squeezes) and they mentioned how much this band have blown up in Oz with expectations being high. 
Lifted from their sublime new album ‘Mr Beast‘, ‘Friend Of The Night‘ is a beautifully emotive slice of post rock genius that starts fragile and still and builds and builds until the swirling guitars and stabbing piano patterns explode in a crescendo of noise. The centre piece of the whole album, this single release perfectly showcases where Mogwai are at in 2006.
I only just saw this film the other day which is some considerable time since its initial release. With such tardiness, some might think my opinion would be prejudiced due to everyone else’s personal views being aired. However, I watched The Lords of Dogtown with an unbiased eye because any mainstream media hype around skateboarding tends to make me run in the opposite direction faster than Kris Markovich from his next sponsor.
Rodders and Co. are always pushing for the progression of skateboarding and it’s material, so here are the brand new (and nowhere else for that matter!) Epoxy Resin decks. Basically The lab technicians at Almost have understood that skateboards are starting to take a serious battering nowadays, so the goods need to be tough, but not bulky. By replacing regular resins with this new Epoxy coating, the boards are stronger and lighter. Plus, you get the new 8 and 9 ply construction to boot for that little bit extra whilst still maintaining enough flex to forgive your sloppy skating!
Anyway, much like the weight, you get used to it, plus it works to a slight advantage in my case because a 7.75 board with size 10.5 feet requires a bit more space to move around upon. There’s nothing worse for a Bigfoot like me to feel like his feet are stuck in a bowl! A couple of extra specifics I noted was the paint job that slides pretty much straight away- no flakey ripple crap here, and the board took a couple of direct hits to the nose without indenting or chipping away.
When DJ Vadim and Yarah Bravo took to the stage, with the aptly named Bongo Pete, the Jazz Café wasn’t even half full. This was a shame because, despite the lack of Blu Rum 13, the opening act were really very good. Vadim has always been able to bring out a multitude of different beats and tonight was no different, going from soulful smoothness to big band bounce.
Up next was the show stealer, Mike Relm. I’d seen the diminutive DJ supporting another Quannam group, Lifesavas, 2 years ago and he took my breath away. But if he was good then, he was absolutely incredible now. Setting himself up with a video screen to the side of the stage and numerous turntables, he started the party off with various mash ups, which brought the noise levels increasingly higher.
Much the crowd’s delight, it turned out that Mike Relm was on the decks for Lyrics Born’s set too, and as LB came bounding down the stairs, hand raised in the air asking for noise, Relm dropped the first beat and the headline set was underway.
The opening bands were The Avalanche and Match. I didn’t get to see them, but they were highly praised by both headliners. I will be sure to keep an ear to the ground and check them out for next time!
The Starting Line mainlined with MxPx. This tour not only celebrated their new 2005 album, Based on a True Story, but they also recently parted ways with Geffen Records and signed with Virgin. This means that their albums will be easier to get hold for you and me! Rad! The 4-piece is often compared to MxPx, but I would say more influenced by MxPx, and sound more like 100 Reasons.