Post by markwj on May 27, 2009 1:46:12 GMT
Subhumans, Meinhof, Refuse/All, Warcoma, Rebel Conspiracy
Star and Garter, Manchester
24/5/09
As my judgement (if not my enjoyment) of the my first watching of the Subhumans at the Dirty Weekend festival last year may have been somewhat impaired by winning the beer raffle, I was happy for a repeat opportunity, plus the extra incentive of the excellent support Meinhof who I’d been waiting to catch for a couple of years since picking up their last album
So a veritable car load of us gathered from along the coast and the border outposts to head up for this on a sunny bank holiday weekend, the mood was certainly bright and sunny, though Dave was somewhat “jetlagged” from his Global Parasite exertions of the preceding two days.
The first band was on quite sharpish to fit them all the line up in with Sunday opening. It was only their 10th gig apparently and you could say that was evident but the young three-piece also showed a grasp of retaining hooks in their fast-paced hardcore and they were well received for openers
Next up locals Warcoma are a more interesting prospect to me, with a crust tinge to their hardcore largely given by the two harsh vocals, one wandering off in front of the stage, the other from one of the guitarists. What they also bring is a bit of innovation in their chords and also no fear to drop down to more atmospheric quieter sections to provide contrast to the raging bits, a bit of metal crossover there to the likes of early Neurosis or His Hero Is Gone. Also early days for them apparently as they can only play the songs they’ve got, but I’ll certainly be looking out for more.
Refuse/All were not so youngsters from down London way still obviously eager to bash out their heavy punk, the majority having played in Riot/Clone since back in the ‘80’s. At first, despite two guitars, the sound was a bit thin but once that was sorted they came across really strongly. Not overly fast but chugging riffs and thundering drums sucked you into the rhythm, there was definitely a quality resembling Amebix/Anti-sect amongst there stuff. No bad thing obviously
Three Europeans resident in London, Meinhof had evolved from a digital hardcore band with the addition of a drummer who could match the frenetic and relentless riffery of their crust punk, but fair play, the intensity was in no way lessened. Keeping to two or three minute blasts through intense rages, the guitar never bothers with any solo breaks, never mind any single chords! The diminutive skinhead girl singer roars up over her head Lemmy style, as she hammers her gloriously distorted bass. There’s no doubt they mean what they say, it is the proverbial short, sharp, shock to and against the system. I wished them well on their forthcoming tour to Brazil, which they are obviously excited about. There’s evidently a lot of mileage in punk yet
As I said, this time around, with the concentration of a designated driver, I appreciated Subhumans so much more. Up til now I only had a few scattered tracks on compilations but whether there was more clarity in the sound anyway, I was tuning in to each of the classics and newer tracks and loving it. “Joe Public”, “This Year’s War”, “Mickey Mouse is Dead”, “Point of View”, all, winners. The spiky convoluted nature of their structures, the complex bass lines, the bouncing rhythms, all rolling things along with gusto. And of course the poetic genius and delivery of the lyrics, plus the succinct intro banter from Dick that hammers their point home. I made the comparison to the Dead Kennedy’s previously but what they’ve got in addition is the British perspective, it’s almost like Wiltshire folk tunes of the modern age, messages in Molotov bottles. Great stuff, and universally well received. I shall be researching the back catalogue with no delay.
Star and Garter, Manchester
24/5/09
As my judgement (if not my enjoyment) of the my first watching of the Subhumans at the Dirty Weekend festival last year may have been somewhat impaired by winning the beer raffle, I was happy for a repeat opportunity, plus the extra incentive of the excellent support Meinhof who I’d been waiting to catch for a couple of years since picking up their last album
So a veritable car load of us gathered from along the coast and the border outposts to head up for this on a sunny bank holiday weekend, the mood was certainly bright and sunny, though Dave was somewhat “jetlagged” from his Global Parasite exertions of the preceding two days.
The first band was on quite sharpish to fit them all the line up in with Sunday opening. It was only their 10th gig apparently and you could say that was evident but the young three-piece also showed a grasp of retaining hooks in their fast-paced hardcore and they were well received for openers
Next up locals Warcoma are a more interesting prospect to me, with a crust tinge to their hardcore largely given by the two harsh vocals, one wandering off in front of the stage, the other from one of the guitarists. What they also bring is a bit of innovation in their chords and also no fear to drop down to more atmospheric quieter sections to provide contrast to the raging bits, a bit of metal crossover there to the likes of early Neurosis or His Hero Is Gone. Also early days for them apparently as they can only play the songs they’ve got, but I’ll certainly be looking out for more.
Refuse/All were not so youngsters from down London way still obviously eager to bash out their heavy punk, the majority having played in Riot/Clone since back in the ‘80’s. At first, despite two guitars, the sound was a bit thin but once that was sorted they came across really strongly. Not overly fast but chugging riffs and thundering drums sucked you into the rhythm, there was definitely a quality resembling Amebix/Anti-sect amongst there stuff. No bad thing obviously
Three Europeans resident in London, Meinhof had evolved from a digital hardcore band with the addition of a drummer who could match the frenetic and relentless riffery of their crust punk, but fair play, the intensity was in no way lessened. Keeping to two or three minute blasts through intense rages, the guitar never bothers with any solo breaks, never mind any single chords! The diminutive skinhead girl singer roars up over her head Lemmy style, as she hammers her gloriously distorted bass. There’s no doubt they mean what they say, it is the proverbial short, sharp, shock to and against the system. I wished them well on their forthcoming tour to Brazil, which they are obviously excited about. There’s evidently a lot of mileage in punk yet
As I said, this time around, with the concentration of a designated driver, I appreciated Subhumans so much more. Up til now I only had a few scattered tracks on compilations but whether there was more clarity in the sound anyway, I was tuning in to each of the classics and newer tracks and loving it. “Joe Public”, “This Year’s War”, “Mickey Mouse is Dead”, “Point of View”, all, winners. The spiky convoluted nature of their structures, the complex bass lines, the bouncing rhythms, all rolling things along with gusto. And of course the poetic genius and delivery of the lyrics, plus the succinct intro banter from Dick that hammers their point home. I made the comparison to the Dead Kennedy’s previously but what they’ve got in addition is the British perspective, it’s almost like Wiltshire folk tunes of the modern age, messages in Molotov bottles. Great stuff, and universally well received. I shall be researching the back catalogue with no delay.