November 26, 2005
So off we go to sunny (?) Hucknall, to check out what our old friend Pocko and his promotuion group Shock and Awe have put together at The Seven Stars this evening. Hucknall isn’t by a long stretch of the imagination, Nottinghamshire’s answer to Las Vegas, but with regular gigs in several of the local pubs, Shock and Awe seem to always get a good crowd as well as attracting some very very good bands down to these gigs. The first act to take to the stage tonight are Black Boxes Diaries, sadly we missed half there set as our bus was late (not us, our BUS!) but we did see enough to get a good impression of what this band are about. WIth some fast powerful guitar riffs that interlock well with the basslines, Black Box Diaries produce a catchy and flowing brand of power pop punk, that moves along at a frantic yet melodic pace. The drumming is kept fairly simple and it held the other instruments together well. The nice break downs helped the music build up and it all flowed quite nicely. The thing that made Black Boxes Diaries stand out from other punk acts was the fact the frontman had a very melodic voice for such a fast and furious band, even though he had added a nice edge, the vocal patterns were a little predicatable and I think these guys could be more adventurous with their sound at times. Black Box Diaries seemed to be a fairly catchy, fun and tight punk band with a melodic difference, they could maybe use more imagination, but at the same time we didn’t see the whole set so I wouldn’t want to judge them completely on the songs we witnessed. Certainly a good punk band who I’d like to see again.
Next up was a band we’d seen before at Junktion 7, it is Derby’s Hoofbite. They kick straight in with their driving, punchy punk. The guitars are really grinding and gritty, supported well by the deep bass. The drumming is once more fairly simple but crashes around and with some nice fills and plenty of mixed up beats, it is very effective. The vocals can’t always be heard, but they mix up the patterns well and have catchy structures. The most impressive thing about Hoofbite though, is the way they change tempo, with such ease. They seem to mix fast and slow really well (or maybe fast and even faster) either way, it’s very tight. With the ringing guitars and catchy melodies, Hoofbite have a similar feel to maybe MXPX, with traditonal, upbeat, punky, chaotic structures. Some better use of the bassist’s backing singing might have given them more presence vocally, but apart from this Hoofbite seemed to be a fairly accomplished band. Fast, fun and simple punk, made interesting by complex tempo changes.
Now to one of Nottingham’s most infamous and certainly theatrical bands Patchwork Grace. With the drumkit fully donned with pretty pink lights and more eyeliner than Forest Road on a Friday night, this show was obviously going to be no exception, despite the vocalist being quite ill and this being their 4th gig in 48 hours! As the deep, dirty basslines and messy, punked-up guitars introduce themselves to your eardrums like a tornado in a greenhouse. Using diverse structures that jump around all over the place to create a mass of dynamic, Patchwork Grace have a very unpredictable sound, they straddle various genres, breeding an angst filled monster of energy. This monster is tamed at points by that which sets Patchwork apart from other thrash-punk acts, Tori’s voice. With a soft and almost innocent edge, she uses her voice to contrast not only with the bassist’s angry growls, but with the overall chaotic sound of the band. This gives them a genuinly original sound of their own. Patchwork Grace ooze a real sex, drugs and rock n roll personna, something that is a rare sight amongst local bands and signed bands alike in recent years. They’re fucked up and that’s the way they like it.
Last time we saw Yello Snow it was a rainy night in Peterborough, they seemed about 7 years younger, 3ft smaller and they didn’t have enough songs to fill their slot, and so ended up playing ‘Teenage Kicks’ twice. So we thought we’d grab the opportunity to see the progress we’ve heard so much about. They seem to have grown massively in confidence and their crowd interaction was the thing that made them stand out from the other bands tonight. The music is fairly bog-standard punk, but with catchy vocal patterns and well written riffs, it does get your feet a’tappin’. The drums and bass are both tight keeping the songs running smoothly, without ever leaving known punk territory. The two guitars changed effectivly, but could have possibly interacted better at times. With catchy melodies and a decent mix of fast Americana punk with the snotty Cockney charm, Yello Snow put in a solid and bouncy performance, which was full of confidence and energy even managing to slip their myspace address into a chant.
To finish off this night of bouncy, fun punk we had a metal band. We are told that Delinquent had to step in last minute to replace Of all Things, and with a new guitarist who supposedly had only started learning the songs the day before, it sounded like a large task for the headlining act. With a real old Skool metal feel, the crunching guitars and pounding drums keep a traditional feel to this band’s loud metal influences. The bass is kept fairly simple but holds the songs down well, with just a random bass solo after one song which sounded quite good but was over ran by stupid effects. The vocal has a real growl, that is deep and powerful and gives an angry edge to their music. The two guitars worked quite well, and the new guitarist seemed to fit in seemlessly even though they had to do quite a few covers to make up the set. I was told before the set that this band hate getting compared to Metallica, so I won’t compare them. Delinquent sound like a band from the 80’s metal scene who are influenced by 70’s rock bands like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath but with a harder, punkier edge, they could possibly come from San Fransico . This band were fairly tight but had very little imagination in their sound, and by including so many covers (even if there was a good reason) they had no feel of their own. It would be nice to see them try to add a few more interesting influences to their sound. Next time more original material would be good and if they don’t want to be compared to bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden, then they should stop covering their songs!
Click here to see more photos Review – Gaz Photos – Smat
Photos ~ Smat
