May 13, 2005
First up at the Old Angel were Big Gay Following and dispite the name there wasn’t the greatest turn out, guess the follow was somewhere else tonight but this didn’t stop Big Gay Following Launching into a mixture of Psychedlic and Thrash Punk set. The first few songs were driving instrumental blues rock with 70’s influence ala Led Zepplin/Hendrix. It was a dazed and enthralling start but it soon subsided and as the drummer’s vocals came in stepped up into crunching and thrashy 70’s punk influenced mayhem. With two guitarists, a drummer who added the screaming angry vocals and no bassist, they might be un-orthodox but as the set went on the set build in intensity and passion and by final song ‘Fucking Cunt’, the small crowd were lapping it up. Like a train running off the tracks, Big Gay following crashed along and caused a slight panic and started us on a fun journey for the night.
As ‘Fucking Cunts’ faded out our memory, in came what sounded like the intro to Family Fortunes and with 3 guys dressed in their sunday best taking to the stage, out boomed a gameshow host voice that Bruce Forsyth would be proud of, intruducing Yes my Ninjas. With Electronica backing and heavy industral Bass and guitars mixed with a vocal that swapped between 80’s style chants aka Gary Numan (specially with the electronic backing) and a System of a Down style roar, Yes my Ninjas are a force to be reckoned with. Using interesting and trippy interludes between songs and with a dirty instrustial under belly Yes my Ninjas breezed through a confident, happy and fun performance. There original and entertaining sound used heavy and steady programmed Drum n Bass riffs to carry it through with catchy lyrics. Using one acoustic song (The Witches Tit) to show off the guitar and bass skills, it made Yes my Ninjas hard to ignore and the growing crowd loved ever second.
To finish off a night, that had so far been impressive with a goodsound from the P.A, enter Death Bed Blues. This 4 piece continued to impress with a tight, emotional blend of heavy yet chilled out rock. Using crunchy, emotional interlocking guitars and bass to do most the talking and only using limit vocals to maximum effect when needed, they used excellent changes in tempo and dynamic to fill the air with emotional and buildiful sounds. Each song seemed to build in pace and emotion and using great lead work on both guitars, Death Bed Blues created a catchy and intense mix of Stoner rock. With their tight and impressive drummer keeping the beat stable and steady, they moved the music using great melodys and each member showed their indiviuality with some good solos. Showing a mix of influence and genre Death bed blues closed the curtain on one of the most entertaining nights we have seen at the Angel for a long time, if you weren’t their you missed out!
Review – Gaz Photos – Glynn
Written By Gaz
Photos ~ Glynn
