Category: Live Reviews

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Live Reviews Music

Zero Boys live at The Dome, London

Zero Boys
The Dome, London
August 2nd

It’s always a gamble going to see reformed old punk bands. You never know if they’re going to quite cut it, how many original members are left, are they just doing it for the money?

Well, in the case of Indianapolis, Indiana punks The Zero Boys, it certainly can’t be for the money. Whilst they do truly deserve the ‘legendary eighties punk band’ tag (their 1982 ‘Vicious Circle’ album is an absolute classic of the genre – a high octane mix of melodic punk and hardcore, a huge melodic and energetic rush), they are still only really renowned by those who closely follow US punk and have limited appeal having never played in the UK before. Suffice to say, there are only about 60 or so diehards and fans here tonight so any thoughts of cashing in must be long gone! And thankfully, original members drummer Mark Cutsinger and frontman Paul Mahern are still in the band and when they take the stage with two younger hired hands (sorry, I don’t know who they are!) and kick into the set, they sound tight and well-rehearsed.

Admittedly, it does take them a few songs to warm up (drummer Mark thankfully starts hitting a little harder a few songs in, propelling the band forward) and snotty hardcore pop punk anthems like ‘Living In The 80s’, ‘Civilization’s Dying’ and ‘Amphetamine Addiction’ all race past in a flurry of frenzied aggression. And although the venue isn’t exactly filled to capacity, those that are in attendance really get into it and the front area of the stage is soon filled with bodies, hot and sweaty and catapulting across the floor as the band beam back, buzzing on the energy spilling back at them and obviously thoroughly enjoying re-living their youths, casting their minds back to simpler more agile times.

All in all, a worthy reformation. Let’s hope they make it back again one day.

Words: James Sherry

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Live Reviews Music

UK Subs Live at 100 Club, London

UK Subs/Anti-Nowhere League/Discharge
100 Club, London
31st July

Part of a series of gigs that Converse are promoting at the 100 Club (the tickets are free to those who could grab them first online), tonight was the brand’s homage to all things spiky and snotty, bringing together three UK punk legends under one roof. And not just any roof at that – seen by many as the birthplace of UK punk (the 100 Club hosted the first punk festival in 1976) this is, as Captain Sensible put it whilst having a beer outside – ‘the scene of the crime, this is where it all began.’ He explains as the doorman tries to move him away from the entrance with a shove. “Can’t believe I’m still getting into trouble here all these years on,” laughs Captain.

Inside the venue is a funny old mix of gnarled old punks mixed with guests and staff of Converse, but there’s a great atmosphere and energy in the room at odds with what some more cynical types may refer to as ‘penshioner punk’. But as Charlie Harper once said, ‘born a rocker die a rocker’ and nothing is going to stop these old punk bands from continuing to play, not even nuclear war – something that Discharge have been shouting about since the early eighties when everyone thought the bomb was about to drop at any second. Discharge’s paranoid anthems of war, death and destruction inspired a whole new generation of punks (as well as many metal heads too, their then ultra-raw and fast punk was a big influence on the likes of Metallica, Anthrax etc). These days, Discharge are fronted by The Varukers frontman Rat, original singer Cal having parted with the band long ago. And considering the dodgy metal direction Cal took the band in before, this is probably no bad thing. Discharge are a harsh, bellowing, distorted mess of noise. Bones’ guitar tone makes your teeth rattle and all in all, they make a horrendous noise, that somewhere underneath lurks classic punk anthems like ‘Protest And Survive,’ ‘Fight Back’ and ‘Never Again.’ All good fun!

Next up, Anti-Nowhere League (made most famous for Metallica’s cover of their filthy-anthem ‘So What’), take the stage, fronted by the snarling, towering biker-punk monster that is Animal, an apt nickname if ever there was one! He stalks and prowls that stage like a caged lion (he has quite a mane of hair to boot!), spewing obscenities out of his mouth to songs, mainly drawn from their early eighties debut album ‘We Are The League’. Tracks like ‘Streets Of London’, ‘Woman’, and of course, the revolting ‘So What’ all provide dumb, drunk, moronic punk fun that’s certainly not meant to be taken seriously.

Tonight the UK Subs are a revelation. So many musicians, both good and bad, have passed through the bands ranks over the years that their live shows can sometimes be a hit and miss affair, depending on who is in the band at the time. The band that frontman Charlie Harper can proudly call UK Subs in 2012 is shit hot. With original member Alvin Gibbs on bass, Charlie is joined by drummer Jamie Oliver and guitarist Jet who both inject a massive dose of energy into the barrage of classics that pile from the stage.

It’s a complete mystery how Charlie, now well into his sixties, keeps going with such rampant energy and enthusiasm. The man is an absolute inspiration for those that never want to give up, and just keep on going. And it tonight’s gig is anything to go by, let’s hope there’s many more years left in the UK Subs yet. The set is back to back absolute classics – ‘Warhead,’ ‘C.I.D.’ ‘I Live In A Car,’ and many more are all played with total conviction and passion from a band who deserve far more respect than they get. The UK Subs are the kings of UK punk and long may they reign over us!

WORDS: James Sherry

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Live Reviews Music

Coke Bust / Sick Fix live at Platform, London

Coke Bust / Sick Fix
Platform, London
5th August 2012


A little bit of Washington DC arrived in town tonight in the shape of straight edge hardcore ragers Sick Fix and Coke Bust. In true DIY spirit this gig is hosted in a youth centre basement, is all ages, has stalls selling feminist literature, is bring your own booze, and leave your attitude at the door.

First onto the floor are the female fronted Sick Fix who lurch into a set of grindcore fuelled hardcore. Pounding with a rage and intensity of acts like Nails their twisted riffery chugs and lacerates through the blast beats to the beatdowns and is only let down by the small PA that just cannot handle a noise of this magnitude. Vocalist Michelle Northam vents her spleen in a guttural fashion, her face reddening with each rasp as she paces back and forth. This girl has some serious lungs on her. Tracks from their forthcoming debut album ‘Vexed‘ are aired tonight and after thirty minutes of relentless brutality they are greeted with rapturous applause and a queue at the merch table. This is band that takes no prisoners.

It’s Coke Bust‘s second visit to these shores and if you caught their last London show in 2010 you know you’re in for a treat. It becomes quickly apparent that they are sharing their drummer with Sick Fix, this man has to be a machine! After 30 minutes of blast beat skin pounding during their set he’s back to do it all over again with Coke Bust, a task which he makes look effortless. If only it were an Olympic sport, he’d be in for a medal. Coke Bust are just as fast and furious in their song delivery as their support tonight but in contrast encompass a more traditional hardcore sound, buzzing riffs and beatdown’s providing a cutting backdrop to front man Nick Tape’s scathing delivery, as he throws himself left to right, thrusting the mic into the crowd for odd gang chorus. A new track from their recent Vaccine split 7″ is debuted alongside more familiar material from their 2010 debut ‘Lines In The Sand‘. As the crowd is ushered forwards for the finale the pit erupts in a fitting climax to an awesome show.

It’s great to witness two bands that take the power and precision speed of grindcore but manage to break it’s monotony yet retain its ferocity. Sick Fix and Coke Bust manage this whilst each putting their own unique spin on it. If this is the new sound of hardcore emerging from DC these days then we can expect more excellent shows by young bands like these.

Words: Miles Hackett

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Live Reviews Music Preview

D.R.I. Live at The Dome, London

D.R.I.
The Dome, London
26th July 2012

Sadly The Dome is dishearteningly only three quarters full tonight for this rare London gig from classic Texan hardcore outfit Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, touring to celebrate thirty years’ service to hardcore punk and thrash. D.R.I. are, without doubt, one of the most important and influential hardcore bands to have spewed out of America in the early eighties. So where was everybody?! Their first EP released in 1982 crammed twenty-two songs onto one 7” EP and it redefined hardcore. The songs were intensely short and fast, bristling with anger and venom. Likewise, their first full album ‘Dealing With It’ came armed with a better production but was just as pissed off and vengeful.

After that the band, like most hardcore bands of the early eighties, started incorporating more metal and rock elements into their sound. Some did this more successfully than others and thankfully, D.R.I. made the transition better than most, alongside bands like C.O.C., Ludichrist and The Crumbsuckers, they spearheaded the ‘Crossover’ movement within the thrash metal scene and combined the socially aware lyrical content of punk with longer, more complex songs influenced by the first wave of thrash bands such as Metallica, Exodus and Anthrax.

Tonight’s set is drawn from every era of the band’s long career, although thankfully it leans heavily on their early material, which despite some good moments on later albums, it’s still the first few recordings that pack the most punch. Tonight, with original singer Kurt Brecht still pacing the stage and spitting out the lyrics with the attitude and venom of a man half his age, D.R.I. play for over an hour and half, a set that includes god knows how many songs all played at hyper-speed and with ultimate precision. Not bad for a band in their 30th year. On top of that, original guitarist Spike Cassidy has recently made a full-recovery from a terrible brush with cancer and plays every song with a look of pure joy on this face. This is a man that probably never expected to get to get the chance to play these songs again and his happiness infects the whole room.

Despite the venue not being as rammed as the band might have liked it to be, those in attendance go completely crazy and and respond to classics like ‘I Don’t Need Society’, ‘Couch Slouch’ and ‘Snap’ with a tornado of energy at the front of the stage as the band feed off the crowd’s lunacy and respond accordingly.

Still dirty and rotten after all these years. Long may these imbeciles reign!

WORDS: James Sherry

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Live Reviews

OFF! live at The Haunt Brighton

OFF!
The Haunt,
Brighton
18/06/2012

OFF!_thehaunt_brighton

This gig starts early, really early. We arrived just before 8pm, and opening (local) band Gnarwolves had already played. Yeah, that early! And then maybe 20 minutes later Trash Talk takes to the stage. My mate Tony confirms we last saw them in Brighton in 2008 (supporting Paint it Black) – jeez, time flies. One thing’s for sure, Trash Talk have been going hard at it in the meantime, with relentless touring and recording that has gained them a strong young fan base, which is evident tonight. From the opening brutish chords, band and front stage crowd go off. Ok, I’ll be honest; much of Trash Talk’s short, blunt, metallic hardcore doesn’t have that killer impact on me that it promises to, but they are still a captivating live act, amped on anger and loaded with surly attitude.

I managed to catch OFF! on their initial blaze thru the UK last summer, but the gig I went to in Portsmouth was in a huge room, far too big for the show, with a small crowd, stage barriers, lacking atmosphere – a situation not conducive to a good night you’d think. Wrong! OFF! were ace, and we drove home stoked on having witnessed a very great band. So, in the much tighter and more populated confines of The Haunt, they are gonna be really great, right? Right! If, like me, you’ve had the OFF! 7”s and recent album on steady rotation, then you pretty much know you are in for a salvo of fast, tight, belligerent hardcore heavily inspired by the music singer Keith Morris originally cut his chops on, way back in the midst of time, but is delivered in 2012 sounding fresh and totally revitalised. And that’s down to the 3 fellow band members he’s aligned with, all accomplished musicians in their own right, and totally on it in keeping up the intensity.

4 songs bursts are interjected by Keith’s thoughts and anecdotes, and it’s good to know he’s still questioning and refusing to accept what his Government tells him. In other words; Punk Rock. Memories of his long deceased buddy Jeffrey Lee Pierce still cast a shadow on Keith, who questioned whether The Gun Club ever played in Brighton. I can confirm they did, late ’82, or early ’83 at The New Regent in West Street, which is now just another shitty bar, but back then was a hot bed of activity. Ack… the stories I could tell. Meanwhile, back at The Haunt, and approx 50 minutes after they started, OFF! departs to rapturous applause from the crowd… and we gather outside in the fading light, and acknowledge we have just seen a very great band. Intense, in your face and on the road with a vengeance, go see them!

Pete Craven

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Live Reviews

The Offspring live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire

London,
6th June 2012

‘Here’s a song from our new album!” Those dreaded words come courtesy of Offspring main man Dexter Holland as his band launch into new single ‘Days Go By’, which is greeted with little more than polite cheers and nodding from the sold-out crowd. At best a pale imitation of the Foo Fighters’ ‘Times Like These’, it doesn’t bode well for the Californian quartet’s future, but thankfully it’s the only slip-up of the evening.

An evening that, incidentally, is all about the past. You’ve got to hand it to Holland and co; it’s been well over a decade since they last made a truly great record, but they’re smart enough to realise their glory days are behind them, and to play what we want to hear. To that end, they’ve lured us into the Empire with a tasty carrot; the prospect of hearing 1992’s ‘Ignition’ album in full, which lends the evening an almost tangible sense of occasion.

Excitement trumps age tonight, with the largely 30-something crowd going crazy as the band rip through the likes of ‘Take It Like A Man’ and ‘Burn It Up’; songs infused with the kind of verve and black humour that has been sorely lacking in their recent material. A spine-tingling ‘Dirty Magic’ rivals even an encore airing of ‘Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)’ in terms of sing-along volume, and after a short post-‘Ignition’ break, the mid-90s highlights come thick and fast. Road-rage anthem ‘Bad Habit’? ‘A couple of rarities here and there? Mega-hit ‘Come Out And Play’? Check, check and check – all delivered at breakneck speed and precious little fuss.

The days of plying their trade in sold-out arenas are long gone, but as ‘Self Esteem’ seemingly transforms the floor into a giant riff-powered trampoline, it’s clear that The Offspring’s live show – on a good day – remains the ace up their collective sleeve. Sparks of the fire of old still remain, and these middle-aged men can still kill the old way.

Alex Gosman

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Live Reviews

Go Groez or Go Home

groezrockfestival2012As ever, Groezrock festival in Belgium was a bit of a blur. A pretty brilliant blur of bands, drinks, drunks, friends, work, play and partly questionable weather. Crossfire headed out as it’s one of our favs and one of the most punk rock festivals out there. This is a rundown of our experience in the crowd this time around.

DAY ONE

YELLOWCARD ACOUSTIC (W)
We kick off our weekend of bands in a chilled manner with a mass singalong in the chandelier-adorned acoustic tent as Yellowcard have each and every one present in the bulging tent in the palm of their collective hand.

MISS MAY I (J)
Brilliant live band. Lots of head moshing to this which gave us a bit of a head ache but we reckon it was definitely worth it.

THE WONDER YEARS (W)
Stage diving is mandatory at the Etnies stage and bodies are flying throughout The Wonder Years’ set. In fact, they start propelling themselves through the air before the band even kick off their first song. An excellent performance brimming with energy and complete with mass stage invasion at its conclusion.

SET YOUR GOALS (W)
SYG pick up where TWY left off perfectly with more audience participation and an effervescent set of pop punk perfection.

THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN (W)
We catch a fleeting moment of Dillinger and even this short audience with the band’s set provides opportunity to see them scaling the heights of speaker stacks and spewing forth excellent intricate heaviness in abundance.

GARRETT KLAHN (W)
A hidden gem on the line-up, the acoustic stage is woefully quiet for Garrett’s set of Texas Is The Reason classics and his own solo creations. However, it’s a magical interlude this evening with a spine-tingling stripped down version of Back And o The Left closing his beautiful performance.

GALLOWS (J)
By this point one too many Jagers had been consumed although we do remember a rad set, a rammed tent, a hell of a lot of crowd surfers and keen crazed Belgian stave-divers. The crowd were all rooting for Wade which was nice to see.

RANCID (J)
Two words: Fucking AMAZING

DAY TWO

MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK (J)
Should have played a smaller capacity tent seen as it was half empty throughout the whole set. They lacked serious energy for such a band with lots of great songs and Pierre’s patronising chat in between songs wasn’t very inspirational.

ALKALINE TRIO (J)
We always find that despite how much we fucking love Alkaline Trio their sound live is pretty shocking. So we were glad to hear that they weren’t as bad as they normally are but it still wasn’t brilliant (Skiba if you are reading this – sort it out!) Their set was varied of old and new tracks which went down well however they didn’t play Armageddon so they lose 5 points.

THE BRONX
Undeniably one of the weekend’s highlights, The Bronx have become one of our ultimate festival bands, always bringing the party and the hits, with plenty of engaging banter from Matt in between. In fact, he proposes to the entire crowd present, becoming the ultimate crowd pleaser in the process.

WATO (J)
Sound was slightly dubious and by no means loud enough for such a great band. Despite the fact that their set was not advertised they drew a decent crowd. (They also played v well despite a mole telling us that they were absolutely shitfaced and the drunkest they have ever been for a gig.)

THRICE (J)
Thrice played a much anticipated set to a packed out tent of over-eager fans keen to see one of their last shows as part of their farewell tour. They did not disappoint and delivered a storming set including crowd pleasers Deadbolt and Stare at the Sun.

GORILLA BISCUITS (W)
More Etnies stage insanity at this point with a neverending barrage of stage divers and crowd surfing. The classic hardcore is certainly one of Groezrock’s big pulls for many of their regular punters and it’s great that the organizers bill such legendary bands in such an intimate tent so everyone can get involved. If they can squeeze into the tent, that is.

REFUSED (W)
What can we say? One of our most anticipated bands of the weekend and they did not disappoint. Huge sound. Riveting stage presence. Seminal songcraft. The energy at the main stage when New Noise kicked in is a feeling that will not soon be forgotten. Catch this band whilst you still can.

Brought to you by Jaimo (J) and Winegums (W).

www.groezrock.be

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Live Reviews

Slayer live at ATP

ATP at Alexandra Palace,
London May 25th, 2012

Too many folks out there seem to associate ATP events with satchels and hairslides, when in fact they’ve often boasted more than a smattering of quality heavier acts. This year, they’ve even been kind enough to book a whole afternoon of such acts, with Yob, The Melvins and Wolves In The Throne Room impressing the early birds. The ace up their collective sleeve, however, is getting legendary doom-mongers Sleep to slow things down to funereal pace, before giving us a rude-reawakening with the almighty SLAYER!

In case you didn’t know, all is not well in the Slayer camp, with guitarist Jeff Hanneman still on a forced hiatus due to a bout of necrotizing fasciitis (that’s inspiration for their next album in the bag, then). But just as a tiger will attack if cornered, Slayer have decided that attack is the best form of defence against life’s adversities, and the opening brace of ‘World Painted Blood’ and ‘Psychopathy Red’ sound utterly fucking venomous.

The real reason why we’re all here, though, is because Tom Araya and his not-so-merry men have promised us a run-through of their classic ‘Reign In Blood’ in its entirety. Even in the cavernous confines of the Alexandra Palace, ‘Angel Of Death’ still sounds as crisp as on record, and twice as brutal, igniting a warzone of a pit. Even a restarted ‘Reborn’ can’t derail this thrash metal bullet train, and by the time that immortal title track arrives, we initially struggle to hear guitarist Kerry King over the voices of the crowd singing along to THAT riff.

As they bid us goodnight with a suitably brutal ‘War Ensemble’, you can’t help but wonder how many other bands sound this good, past their 30th anniversary and minus a key founding member. If ever Slayer regain their full strength….then Satan help us all.

Alex Gosman

Watch footage from the show from James Sherry’s man cam hands and note that this week he thought an RT meant the Radio Times!

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Live Reviews

Yelawolf and Doomtree live at the Electric Ballroom

Doomtree14th May 2012

London

Whilst many of the fans inside London’s Electric Ballroom may have been waiting for Alabama’s finest, Yelawolf, a good portion of them were there for the support, the Minnesotan crew Doomtree, who were making their UK debut. Being a support act isn’t easy at the best of times, but with a large crowd in front of them, it was going to take something special to get the atmosphere going and a frenzy whipped up, but within one song, the seven-strong crew had done just that.

With Paper Tiger and Lazerbeak in the back manning the decks and live drums, the five MCs bounced around on stage, each taking their turn to showcase their talent at the fore, getting hands raised, fists pumping and wings-and-teeth handsigns well and truly taking over the crowd. From old favourites like Slow Burn to brand new tracks from their latest crew album No Kings like Little Mercy, Bolt Cutter and No Way, the energy levels never dipped below 100% and many, many new fans were made.

When they dropped their aptly titled banger Bangarang, it was game over for any cynics. The beats bumped and the rappers were fully on point. POS and Mictlan in their ripped denim and leather, Cecil in his understated yet devastatingly smooth steez, Dessa with her singing and rapping that simply demanded attention for all and Sims who bounced around and told the crowd who they were watching and loving, all combined to prove just why they are such an exciting proposition and even POS’ new track Get Down, which no-one had heard before, had the entire crowd going nuts to a bonafide club smasher.

Yelawolf may have had his name on the ticket, but it was Doomtree that took over the show. Now we just need them back for a headline show.

Abjekt

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Live Reviews

Andrew WK live review from the Forum, London

AndrewWK_the_forum_london

Support from Hawk Eyes and Turbowolf
12/4/12

If tonight’s show was a racehorse, the bookies would have stopped taking bets weeks ago. The chants of “Party! Party! Party!” start a good fifteen minutes before Andrew WK and his band take the stage, and it’s clear that it’d take a fuck-up of monumental proportions for this one to fail.

Hawk Eyes (ex Chickenhawk), however, make music not for celebration but for exorcism. The Leeds quartet are getting better (and more deranged) with time; their trademark squalling guitars now underpinned by a bone-crunching rhythmic rumble. They’re still the musical equivalent of a knife fight in an asylum, but now the inmates have commandeered a juggernaut, and they’re gleefully ram-raiding our consciousness.

Turbowolf are nothing short of outstanding tonight, whipping a decent-sized pit into action with thunderous punked-up anthems like ‘A Rose For The Crows’ and ‘Read & Write’. Vocalist Chris Georgiadis is his usual good-humoured self, and neither he nor his band seem remotely fazed at playing venues of this size. Greater things surely beckon.

Andrew WK’s ‘I Get Wet’ debut received somewhat mixed reviews when it was released a decade ago, but it’s undoubtedly a great party record – a glossy hybrid of industrial intensity and 80’s pomp-rock melodies, all designed to be played at ear-splitting volume to a crowd of people going nuts. He’s playing it in full tonight, backed by a WWE tag-team of a band with no fewer than three guitarists, and by the time the legendary ‘Party Hard’ is unleashed – only two songs into the set – jubilant sweat-soaked mayhem reigns supreme.

There’s no let up in energy tonight – save for the lighters-in-the-air balladry of ‘Never Let Down’ – and a fair few laughs, with ‘I Love NYC’ hastily re-titled ‘I Love London Town’. Mr. WK’s seemingly unshakeably optimism and quest for fun may not have won him much critical appeal, but as the closing ‘We Want Fun’ heralds the third – and largest – stage invasion of the night, it’s hard to think of a show more worthy of leaving your troubles and worries at the door.

Alex Gosman