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The term Gang Bang is one with several interesting meanings; The first is to partake in gang related activities such as drive by shootings and the second is to have filthy sex with multiple partners at the same time. Tonight’s Gang Bang music showcase is thankfully of a different kind with no guns or gangbangers to witness me throwing my car keys into a big glass jar.
The five act musical marathon is kick started by The Wutars dirty pop rock. A quartet of jeans, beaten leathers, bare chests and guitars, vocalist Maz Manzini doesn’t just look like he’s living the dream he’s got the name to match, as do Messrs Gold, Valentine and Terrific who convincingly blaze through a set which includes the rousing ‘Oh Roisin’. Next are The Baskervilles and a blitz of jittery indie-ska with ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Die In England’. An eclectic line up who need to work on their stage craft theirs is a sloppily tight set jammed with above average melodies and grounded with big shit eating grins.
But its The Philbys, who armed with word of mouth expectation, have the first real stab at the support slots on offer. Visibly up for it and with the confidence of their preceding live reputation they raise the bar with the short sharp crescendos and rampaging guitars of ‘Bang Bang’ and ‘Change’. It’s a set that displays a collective aspiration which although generically pop rock is on tonight’s performance realistically feasible. Not content with reeling out a practise perfect safe set, the band hold their own with natural stage management before ending with the superbly stunning ‘Freefalling’ and ‘Striptease’.
Tonight’s eclectic line up next welcomes The Anomalies guitar infused Hip-Hop which although an acquired taste seems to have attracted a larger crowd. Despite a shorter set the animated pace of ‘Employee Of The Month’, ‘Bamboo Beats’ and ‘Whisky Bottles’ induce a carnival coloured riot of short lived revelry where in some instances noise seems to take preference over substance. But to be honest no-one cares and it must be said that the sound isn’t great in Proud tonight and getting worse as the evening wears on. As ‘Kid Riot’ ends an energetic and largely enjoyable set the thought of yet another band left to go isn’t all that appealing.
So maybe that’s why a stripper… sorry, sorry, naked performance artiste is on hand to lift the late night slumber prior to Holy Ghost Revival storming the stage with their mock n roll trash. That’s a bit harsh actually, the band hasn’t played a note yet and already accusations and assumptions are vying for room on the basis of their recent debut. That said the operatic lunacy of ‘Wolfking Of LA’ paints pictures of a band fed-up with formulaic rock. More to Conor Kiley, the groups chaotic mouth-piece, than his lank hair initially implies, its unclear as to whether the emphatic performance is working or if appreciation and incomprehension are too beer stained to separate as the pantomime clatter of ‘The Gospel According To Judas’ and ‘Embrace The Hate’ rain down on the crowd. A long night of gangbanging all but over, I’m spent and its time to rescue my car keys and slip out.
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