February 22, 2006
Well, The Maze is fast becoming one of our favourite venues with a regular flow of quality bands. Tonight they are putting on two of Nottingham’s best punk/ska bands in Weeble and firstly Bud. Though this band has been around quite a while, it is only recently, with a slightly adjusted line up, that they have really pulled things together. Tonight they are lacking there brass section so it has a slightly more dirty punk feel than the last time we witnessed them. The vocals really stand out with lead guitarist/vocalist Matt showing some great vocal patterns and a strong voice. It carries the songs really well and pierces through the music and is well delivered, to give them a feel not to dissimilar at times to Goldfinger. Bud also have some great dynamics and mix the punk influence well with some great ska breakdowns. This mixed with Matt’s brilliant deliverance of vocals means Bud have a real energy and bounce to their songs. The drummer uses fairly simple beats and the bass pushes the songs forward with some really upbeat, walking lines. The guitar riffs and vocal patterns add the spice and awesome melodies, that are so catchy especially on final song ‘Too Late’. The unpredictable changes and dynamics give Bud a really exciting and fun feel and even though the lack of brass was noticeable they still rock the 15 or so people in the room.
Next up are one of Nottingham’s finest bands Weeble and the first thing we notice is the lack of crowd. Weeble normally have a good following but the turn out tonight was a little poor to say the least! This however didn’t stop the guys from putting on the sort of show we have come to expect. Big harmonies, huge catchy lyric hooks, blasting horn sections and just brilliant danceable punk/ska music. In the opinion of all here at Saggy Pants, Weeble are one of the best punk/ska bands in the Midlands and very probably the country and everyone I know who has seen them live has been impressed. Tonight there were a few new faces to see them and so I also asked them what they thought and the reaction was very good even though I finally found one down point to this band, when one person said that a few brass solos might add something to some of the songs, and we agree totally, allowing some of the instruments to come thorugh on their own once in a while may proove very effective for them. By the end of their set the lads were going mad and the extended breakdown in ‘Hooked Up’ saw the Maze manager Ben get up on stage to rap some ‘Vanilla Ice, whilst the rest of the room skanked its collective ass off. The fact there were so few people here didn’t matter in the end as the small crowd loved every moment but it was still as Ed ‘The Ardvark’ Kilroy said ‘An injustice to music’. So next time COME CHECK OUT THESE BANDS!!!!!
Review by Gaz
