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Permission To Rock Review 2/7/10

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Permission To Rock Review 2/7/10

Outside the St. Nicholas Centre the deep booming distorted growl of fledgling musical prowess can be easily heard. As I approach, I am accosted by a few admirable young men and a haze of chequered shirts that obviously don’t think much to the evening and were off to do something else. On entry I am greeted by a mix of parents, old relatives and young supporters there to see the six yardbird bands. The professional set up and the church’s great acoustics mean the music hits you with an audible punch as you enter, and at present a confident lead vocalist screams out in an angry growl while bass-heavy guitars synchronise to create a BMFV/ sound that’s got a few of the grandparents a bit bewildered and their smiles a tad fixed. The band, “Fighting Like Sharks”, are very good but not too original – entire songs sound like the super heavy break in the middle of a Slipknot track. The nu-metal sound works well however; solid foundations and a tight drummer result in some polished tracks that display impressive lead guitar work, showing they obviously gel as a group.

As the second band enter looking just a little bit retro in an early Police kind of way, we are led to believe they answer to the holler of “Timothy Leat and the Running”, perhaps a calling card to the pub rock/new wave sounds of the 80’s. Opening up, they produce a very refined sound with a solid and dexterous rhythm section that continually impress, creating a vibe that screams “Blur” mixed with a bit of “Ash”. A nice Bombay Bicycle Club cover goes down very well and their sound blossomed into one that was very fine-tuned but ambient, with some euphonic vocals. They round off their set with a track entitled “Wake Up Call” which reminded one of a sound reminiscent of The Cure, and the powerhouse rhythm section cannons out a fitting denouement to conclude a very mature set.

The third act, “Thick as Thieves”, detonate into some up-beat tracks, and it is immediately prevalent that the drummer practises a lot and in a room far away from other people. A punk/ indie feel emerges with the singer adopting a Libertines stance and sounding very similar to Arctic Monkeys, leading the power trio with aggressively rhythmic guitar in favour of technical solos. The power trio are one of the more comfortable bands of the evening, and the rhythm section seems to be yet another duo that interact almost seamlessly and create a real groove that sometimes drowns out the guitar and vocals. Mixing a range of genres including ska/reggae, pop punk and an extended finish to one track that seems to transcend into a thrash metal-esque explosion, the band integrate a diverse mood and energy into their performance.

As the fourth act takes the stage, a large mob of young girls plant themselves in front of the stage and a 1920’s style hat appears on the guitarist’s head. It is revealed that the band has a lack of gig experience but are big entertainers for their schoolmates; a sizeable chunk of whom have turned out to see their burgeoning performance. They put out a nervous but accomplished cover of “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse that is very well received, and proceed to emit a set of tracks with an indie/grunge vibe about them. An enjoyable first gig suggests a flourishing talent in the making.

The fifth act of the evening are clearly an experienced gigging outfit despite their age, mixing old school punk with the modern twists of bands such as Rancid and Reel Big Fish. With vocals in the same mould as Blink 182, the band goes down a treat with the audience even singing along by the end. Utilising the classic ‘1-2-3-4’ count in for every song and boasting a singer who is the spit of Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt, this power trio know exactly what punk rock is all about and deliver it by the bucket load. On the evidence of this set, their Quarantine EP is well worth a listen.

“The Deadbeats” have the task of rounding off the impressive evening and do so in style. Their niche as a female fronted funk four-piece (try saying that over and over!) works well pounding the ears of the audience with a set of upbeat numbers reminiscent of early Chili Peppers. Their set of original songs clearly highlights their abilities as songwriters, with the awesome “Plastic Nation” sporting the type of riff you can’t help but describe as ‘dirty’. The band clearly enjoy themselves and are certainly one of the tightest bands around rounding off a great evening perfectly.

Comments:

1 Trevormcdevor | on 21 July 2010

Noting myself as additional writer for this one!

2 Irrelevant Protest | on 26 July 2010

hey smile thanks for the review, we were the fourth band on the night. I found that review to be quite positive really, thanks very much smile Henrik.

3 Howard | on 27 July 2010

It would be great to hear some of your songs, Henrik. Please upload some to your profile so we can listen to you guys.

4 Irrelevant Protest | on 27 July 2010

should be able to do that. We need to record some proper demos though because everything we have at the moment is rough, if you want I can send you links to our sites, then probably at the end of summer I’ll upload some better demos of a better quality.

5 Timothy Leat And The Running | on 28 September 2010

Thank you for such a great review of all the bands!

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