Category: Music

Part of the Weekend Never Dies
30th April Bristol Academy

There’s a recurring sensation I’ve been feeling when attending shows, you know, when this obscene compound of muscle, flesh and bone that we call a body is absolutely riddled with excitement. Hope saturated with joyful anxiety flowing through your veins, leaving you in a giddy rush and a strange new accent that puts off the opposite sex more than piss stained briefs, unless of course they’re a quirky one and that’s their ‘thing‘. And this is all before I’ve walked into the fucking doors. Those overwhelming doors, plagued with bouncers who confiscate your pistachio nuts that you were saving for the train home (enraged, I was), that somehow only enhance this unmatched excitement of seeing musicians that your ears have given unhesitating consent to on countless occasions. The night is going to be perfect, right?

The recurring sensation that follows the above recurring sensation, is that terribly awkward waiting period during a gobshite support act that does nothing but savage your mood, so when the main act finally graces the stage, you can’t enjoy it because you’re too busy focussing on the crowd being rubbish or something. All because of those bastard support acts, who are, let’s face it, nearly always crap. This is where we turn to those Belgians for help again, you know, like we do when we want nice chocolates or a quaint little investigator who, despite his brilliance, is impossible to be taken seriously because of that hilarious moustache. In this case, it is Soulwax who are our heroes for the evening who, being so wonderfully Belgian, have nonchalantly made the greatest decision in the world and have supported themselves at a gig for their own premier. Brilliant. No buzz-killers here then (eww, did I really just say that? Saying that, did I really just follow it up with ‘eww’? Have a word) Then, naturally as ever, providing a happy go lucky audience with more varied rock fuelled techno nonsense than you can shake a flaccid member at. And there’s always someone who has to try and shake a flaccid member at it isn’t there? Needless to say, the Dewaele brothers showed this conch who’s the daddy, quite literally. No, really.

Opening with a reverse of structure in the deliciously bass grooved nite version of E-Talking, with the motif ‘part of the weekend, never dies‘ being repeated until it reaches the meaningful level of holy scripture – broad, vague, and un-fucking-forgettable. The night continues in similar sweaty bopping fashion with a great selection from the ‘Most Of The Remixes‘ collection, including a breathtaking, heart pounding mix of Robot Rock into the equally speaker vibrating Phantom Pt. II. Twinnings Infusions haven’t got shit on Soulwax’s guitar fused electronica. And this is coming from someone who really, really likes herbal tea. Seriously, T’Wax are light years ahead, and are showing no sign of slowing. ‘Any Minute Now‘ classics like ‘Miserable Girl’ (surely Whitey’s primary inspiration?) and the irreplaceable ‘NY Excuse‘ (Album version! Album version!) were jammed to bring this nightmarishly exciting set to its final crescendo. Riton (a brilliant DJ who kept the crowd bumping in between sets with some great body-jerking anthems like Daft Punk’s ‘Rock N Roll’ and M.I.A.’s ‘XR2’) managed to tempt a large portion of the crowd away from the traditional interlude piss break and just hold it in for another wiggle on the dancefloor before those Dewaeles returned to the stage.

If you’ve ever seen a 2manydjs set before, you should know what to expect here. A consistently rapturous flow of musical delight backed with a sublime choice of records to suit anyone’s boogie-ing (how are you meant to spell that? Realllllly) requirements. From Aphex Twin to Sebastian Bach, Mr Oizo to Crookers, Zombie Nation to MGMT, no one wanted it to end. Thankfully, this tour seems to be going on for some sort of era, so if you get the chance to go, don’t think about hesitating; I can guarantee that it will be one of the most fun nights out you’ve ever had. If only Soulwax could host every party.

Joe Moynihan

Birmingham Academy
09/04/08

Almost two years ago, Birmingham’s Carling Academy played host to Down’s first ever performance on UK soil. It was gig that had been some fifteen years in the making, and as such the response afforded to them on that fateful evening was little short of hysterical. More impressive still was the fact that this was a band without any form of record deal. A band that had decided to book their own shows, arrange their own travel and do everything solely for the love of music – a people’s tour down to the last detail.

Now, with a new label and a new album to boot, Down fever is officially an epidemic. It’s a fact that’s obvious simply by taking one look at the pubs and bars that surround the venue hours before the band will take to the stage. Much like the venue itself come show time, they’re full to the brim and bubbling with anticipation. If ever proof were needed that Down is a band very much in it for the long haul, and that the success of their previous visit was due to more than mere novelty, tonight is a case in point.

With a collection of home videos and behind-the-scenes clips taking the place of a support band, every last details of the night is about one band only. As they make their arrival shortly after 9pm, the screams that fill the air are nothing short of deafening, with the band themselves turning in a performance that more than justifies such adulation. For just over two glorious hours this evening, the New Orleans quintet are nothing less than stunning; a shining example of rock and roll and its absolute pinnacle. With their roots planted firmly in the same soil gave us the likes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple forty years ago, songs such as Lifer, Ghosts Along The Mississippi and the ever-filthy Hail The Leaf positively soar, providing the type of soundtrack that’s tailor-made for late night smoking sessions of the most pungent kind. At the back of the stage former Eyehategod drummer Jimmy Bower unleashes a stunning range of swaggering percussive beats, locking in perfectly with the low end rumble of former Pantera bassist Rex Brown. At the sides Crowbar main man Kirk Windstein and Corrosion Of Conformity legend Pepper Keenan let loose with an array of dirt-encrusted riffs and blues-drenched leads that demand a shot-downing response; something Phil Anselmo – who tonight is on fine form despite cutting an unusually humble figure up front – could likely provoke with ease.

However, what shines most tonight are the effects that such songs and indeed such a performance have on the crowd itself. At one point this evening several people will openly flaunt the smoking ban – not to mention the illegal drugs act – while at the same time building a precariously structured human pyramid. Others will climb atop the shoulders of their friends to wave banners and flags with pride. The rest will simply stand in awe of a band that are – to those here tonight – legends in their own right. You see, for those who hold them dear, Down is much more than a mere band: it’s a way of life. And, for tonight at least, it’s easy to see why.

Stelios Bitterman

Photos by Graham Pentz @ G-Tizzle Photography

Free Butt, Brighton
05/05/2008

There’s a crap awful band playing when I turn up. I take a quick look then retreat to the bar where thankfully they have ice cold bottles of Weston’s Organic Cider.

H8BALL from Eastbourne are up next, and hampered by very low guitars for their opening numbers, it’s all drum ‘n bass, oh cripes! The soundman thankfully turns up the appropriate knobs and normal service is resumed, with some energetic PunknRoll that sees the boys working the stage and shaking the limbs of the sunbaked Bank Holiday crowd. There’s a rowdy interpretation of Clash standard “Bankrobber” towards the end, and call me a stick in the mud, but I don’t think any cover can ever touch the original.

Now here’s a thing… bassist Alvin Gibbs is back in the UK Subs for a UK tour for the first time in a long (long) time (he usually just does their overseas dates) and the last time (and only time in fact) I saw him in the Subs was in a backwater town called Hailsham in early ’82… and the support band that night was Criminal Damage, from nearby Polegate, whose drummer Tezz is now in H8BALL… nice to see we’ve all found better things to be doing with ourselves… hahaha…

Completing the UK Subs tonight, alongside Alvin and singer Charlie Harper, are shit-hot drummer Jamie Oliver and firebrand Japanese guitarist Jet… he of the mega-quiff. And I’d have to say that this is one of the tightest line-ups I’ve seen from these veterans in ages, as they blaze thru 45minutes of prime cuts from their immense back catalogue… kicking off with “Young Criminals” and touching base with all the best-known standards… “Teenage” “Stranglehold,” “Tomorrow’s Girl” “Left for Dead” and of course no UK Subs set will ever (ever) be complete without the rumbling anthem “Warhead“, which sounds as powerful as ever with the audience joining in for a full throated chant of the chorus of a song whose subject matter is as relevant as ever in 2008…. “There’s children in Africa with Tommy guns, Getting ready, While the Islam armies are beckoning on, They’re getting ready…”

With Alvin on board we get a rocking rendition of “Down on the Farm” (from the “Endangered Species” album) which he penned, and Guns ‘n Roses infamously covered, plus there’s a dusting down of “Police State” off the “Shake Up The City” EP… an often overlooked record that I always dug.

You can say what you like about The UK Subs, but they have never been away, never thrown in the towel, still kept at it, and refuse to lie down and die. On tonight’s evidence there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank.

Pete Craven