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Black
Spirit Guage
Here
we have a 'traditional' three piece metal band, who by turn went
from Motorhead to The Clash, with even a little bit of Cream and
The Who thrown into the mix for good measure! There was even the
odd, but ubiquitous, Pete Townshend leap in there too.
With
songs like "Sleep When I'm Dead' you can't but help but feel
that they were taking all their cues from 'Bert Weedon's (very)
little book of Heavy Metal'.
Now
don't get me wrong, these lads are very proficient musicians, it's
just that like all three piece rock bands they suffer by comparison
to the greats of the genre.
But
despite an audience who clung stoically to the bar, drinks clasped
tightly to their chests, Black Spirit Guage played on - Here was
music that was loud and proud in its performance, but at the end
of the day it was nothing new - always returning to the familiarity
of trad' rock riffs and licks, and the safety of what people want
from a three-piece rock band.
Psydoll
"And
now for something completely different" says the announcer
at the start of Monty Python shows and Psydoll are just that 'completely
different'.
Another
three piece rock band you might think, but hang on one of them's
a girl ... and they're all Japanese! What's going on here?
And
so it begins ... Crunching, crashing electronica of the heavy metal
kind: The sound track to many a late-night manga marathon. This
J-Pop for the Nine Inch Nails generation.
The
cute as button Neoki, in full Cosplay dress, hangs on to the microphone
and her portable keyboard, then sings out in a haunting fashion.
The Japanese lyrics all going beyond the audience, but that doesn't
matter it's the sound and feeling that counts and this has loads
of (un)feeling to it.
Ucchi
stands literally to Neoki's left, playing guitar, stood rock still.
Looking like an extra from Bladerunner he brings the guitar to life
and death through the whole set
To
Neoki's right, stands and jumps and dances Loveless, percussionist
extrodinaire. With electronic drum pad, cymbal, tom tom and theremin
he keeps it all together with electronic beats and the eerie wooo
of the theremin.
There
maybe no spoon, but there's very definitely Psydoll.
Co-Exist
So
far we've had rock & roll in a traditional manner, J-Pop with
an industrial edge and now we get anger and possibly even angst
too with Scottish thrashers Co-Exist.
These
are a big bunch of rockers who'd give anyone a run for their money
in the 'who can shout the loudest' stakes.
There's
anger, there's shouting, there's more anger and then there's more
shouting, with a bit more shouting on top of that too! And this
is where it all goes wrong for me ...
The
likes of Limp Bizkit and Slipknot do this all so much better - better
sound quality, better shows, just better overall. But Co-Exist have
one thing in their favor, where as Limp Bizkit and the gang have
a manufactured sense of danger about them, Co-Exist are the real
deal. They look and feel as if they'd punch your lights out if you
crossed them, Fred Durst would probably just get a roadie to that
for him ...
So
it seems I didn't care too much for Co-Exist, true, but the audience
did and that's what counts. From the start of their set to the end,
the front of the Brickyard was packed with bouncing bodies, all
tying to get a little bit closer to the stage, all trying to put
their heads into the monitors to make it one stop louder.
Co-Exist left me thinking that like the Forth Bridge they're very
impressive, but like that icon of metal, a fresh coat of paint might
not go amiss!
Amen
And
now the band everyone was here to see - Amen.
The
darlings of the US skate-punk scene and the self proclaimed 'band
that America hates', Amen and their lead singer Casey Chaos certainly
have a lot to live up to.
But
with an audience already well wound-up from the seriously eclectic
mix of sounds already heard in the Brickyard, Amen wouldn't have
to try too hard to make everybody's night!
Looking
very much like a Mötley Crüe tribute band as they hit
the stage, Amen are straight in to it, and Casey's very much on
form. Diving down and face to face with the audience he's singing
and growling through the first song as mike stands and cables are
scattered all over the stage. Roadies rush back and forth keeping
the place 'tidy' and picking Casey off the ground - his back tearing
antics getting wilder as the night goes on.
The
audience is really heaving now, a seething mass that's welded to
the front of the stage, in awe of Casey and his henchmen.
This is rock in the raw, punk rock that is. With the disturbing
imagery of songs like 'P*ss Virus'and 'California's Bleeding', Amen
are on a roll. Sweat streams off every ones face. It's a hot night
and Amen are just making it hotter.
"We're making no money on this tour" shouts Casey to the
audience. "'Cos we're just poor, ugly American c***s!".
"So come and hang with us after the gig at the merchandise
stall and we'll feed you all the drink you want" calls Casey,
drumming up sales of the tees and albums!
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| Casey
terrorises one of the security team. |
I said
Co-Exist were dangerous; so what does that make Amen? And who's
going to protect the security guard that Casey's just grabbed onto?
For
nearly an hour Amen rocked the little world of the Brickyard, making
ears ring and sweat drip by the bucket.
Bands
like Blink 182 and Sum 41 are the polite face of modern American
punk, but Amen are the real deal, no record company hype, no PR
person directing their actions. Casey and the rest of Amen live
the punk rock life style to the max and make the music to match.
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