Caught in the Crossfire

The Fight
Bivouac @ Duke of Wellington, Lincoln
09-03-06

Two bands, both pop/punk, both with female lead singers and both followed by an American camera crew. It seemed the only thing separating them was their origin: Cigarette from California and The Fight born in Dudley.

It is early days for Cigarette as they have recorded only six songs. Despite this the venue started to fill with anticipation as camera men began to stake their spots around the stage.

Compared to the likes of No Doubt and Blondie, Cigarette provides a mist of light punky attitude. The performance consisted of the lead singer kissing anyone she could grab and asking the question ‘shall I become a lesbian?’ in an effort to try and get the crowd riled up.

It was a shame that the skilled, strong tones and sounds provided by both guitarist and drummer were overpowered by the attitude and arrogance of the lead singer.

Desperation was the word that sprung to mind, as the excitement of a woman in a skirt wore off and the crowd dispersed. When I asked the lead singer what 2006 had in store for Cigarette her response was: “We’re gonna rule the fucking world.”

Our only escape of a deflated night came in the form of The Fight. It would have been easy to pre-judge then as another No Doubt wannabe but are more comparable to the likes of Tsunami Bomb, hailed as the UK’s only hope in punk.

Performing songs due for release in their next album, Lincoln were the first to hear their new tracks in the UK. The same prevailing guitar riffs and bellowing vocals reflected remnants from their previous album ‘Nothing new since rock ‘n’ roll,’ released last year.

The lead singer K8! played a commanding role, orchestrating the crowd into a frenzy and total mayhem. The audience were ignited by her chanting, creating circle pits and crowd surfing in the modest sized venue of the Bivouac.

It was refreshing to see a female vocalist carry the music whilst charging the infectious punk beats with more energy. Disobeying K8’s! orders to sit on the floor, an unlucky audience member received the punishment of having to strip through an entire song. It is evident from the gig that the band has benefited from their vast amount of touring experience. Fans were happy to sing along to the rebellion in-cited lyrics and it was apparent that the band deservedly picked up new fans.

The Fight were euphoric with the response of the crowd, K8! said: “It’s been amazing tonight but I’m always happy with the response we get from Lincoln. We also go down well in Southampton, Manchester and Glasgow but tonight has been awesome.”

Sian Cartwright

Mean Fiddler
18/03/06

The London Astoria, on a bill with One Minute Silence, Fifteen years old, and I’m standing there saying ‘who the hell is this? They are fucking awesome’. Six years later, five minutes down the road and i’m still absolutely blown away.

A ten song set merged into what seemed like seconds onstage, and not long enough, as I’m pretty sure the crowd would have agreed. There are times when you pay so much attention to every song played, the set list branding itself on your memory, and there are times when you’re just so wrapped up in the music that it flies by without warning. And the 45 minutes of intense incredible old skool noise, which sounded as good now as it did back then, was the latter.

They blurted out If She Could Speak about three songs in, where I seemed to forget all photographic responsibility & suddenly became unaware of the bodies falling behind me. Grady Avenell was screaming inches away from me, spitting like a rabid dog, proving that he’d not lost any of his awe inspiring showmanship as a front man since the last time I saw him.

Not to forget the other band members who together, collectively, have created some of the most amazing music i’ve ever heard in my life. Their recording material is awesome, but there’s just something about going onstage and not stopping until you’ve given everything you have, that makes Will Haven’s live set that much more incredible.

I thought my love for metal was dying, and the Deftones were the pretty much the only band left on my list. I thought hiphop had pretty much almost taken over my life, but not entirely, despite coming home & falling asleep to Cage, I had to play Carpe Diem, which dutifully ended the set last night.

It has to be said that Will Haven well & truly have earned a place in my heart for a lifetime of intense and completely boundary free noise, and anyone who didn’t go and see this heart stopping show really missed out. Luckily, this time, I only have to wait 3 days to see them do it all over again.

Jen Saul
[Photo by Jen Saul]