November 13, 2004
Constant Change it was, who had the opportunity to begin proceedings for tonightÂ’s NSPCC charity event, and this they did, with a show of slightly bland teenage grunge, with probably much more angst in the lyrics than was conveyed in the performance and body language. Powerful guitars, often played in unison, were the main focus of technique and attention. The vocals, on top of this, were nice and clear. The music itself was left a little wanting when it came to individuality and definition, and the stage presence could have done with being more confident, but overall, they seemed to be happy to be up there. It was an obviously nervous presentation, but the cover of Guns and RosesÂ’ Sweet Child OÂ’Mine definitely won the crowds favour, with the female vocalist pulling it off impressively. This set them up for a much more relaxed ending to the set.
Starting your set with Bartender and the Thief by the Phonics, means you start your set in rather loud and distorted style, and you could tell that this suited 8 Idle Hands just fine. They grabbed the attention, not least because they seemed to be constantly fighting each other for it. These guys impressed me by including complexities to take it away from your same olÂ’-same olÂ’ punk band as I initially thought they were, by introducing hints of 50Â’s rock n roll riffs, and Brand New/Taking Back Sunday style vocals. Crashing, steady drums and jazzy basslines certainly got the foot tapping, and the frontmanÂ’s guitar playing made up for the lack of a lead guitarist. It was a well practised, professional and feel-good set, there was no question that these guys were comfortable on stage, but maybe a little too comfortable
This was our first sighting of the new Wagstaffe drummer, and there was certainly no compromise in the sheer energy and quality of their performance, just because of a newbie in the ranks. He was able to prove that theyÂ’d found themselves a guddun by pulling WagstaffeÂ’s trademark pausing and immaculate timing off without any kind of bother. TheyÂ’ve made a point of showing what the bassist is made of in the introduction to their new song, with jaw dropping slap bass, which promptly breaks into another naughty-boy-garage-ska-punk number to add to their collection. WagstaffeÂ’s collection really got the crowd twitching, they really wanted to skank, but for some reason unbeknownst to myself, they didnÂ’t quit.
The crowd didn’t take much more convincing though, and by the time Weeble had finished their first, we saw the skank take over. They were without trumpet played Glen, who’s living it up in Malaysia, but the brass section weren’t to be phased. Stef and Ben bombarded the microphones with trombones, saxophones, kazoos, and a strange pip/keyboard thing that I still haven’t figured out. But it was that pipe thingy that gave them a new sound, and at last we had some pirate ska going on! Weeble seem to have a problem whenever we see them outside of Junktion 7, and tonight was no exception. A broken guitar meant there was a bit if an interlude, but we were kept entertained by the various instruments, especially the slap-stick style trombone. The vocals were just as hearty, and the stage presence was as bouncing as ever. By the end of the set and plenty of going ‘mental’ there was one sweaty crowd, and one very sweaty, gasping band.
The drum kit had taken some punishment tonight, and just to cap it off, the multi-functional Stef saddled up to provide the beat and the backing vocals for his second band, Pariah. Bringing brilliantly refined and well structured, but not greatly original emo stylings, with two powerful guitars that went really well together, and a good mix of complex and simple basslines. As IÂ’ve said, there is nothing remarkable about PariahÂ’s music, it is very orthodox garage emo, but you cannot argue with the quality of it, and by the looks of the front line, these guys live and breathe their emo. There was a moment of confusion half way through the set when the PA cut out, but they carried on regardless until it fired back up in time for the last couple of songs. Pariah know what theyÂ’re doing, but their presence needs more defiance, and the vocals more umph, I was finding it far too easy to get distracted.
To see more pictures from this gig click here Review ~ Steph Photos ~ Glynn
Written By Steph
Photos ~ Glynn
