endless bummer

On Friday night, the Hannah and I hopped into the mini and trundled over to Bradford to watch a few bands and have a generally good time. I had fun, Hannah didn’t dig it so much (it wasn’t Paramore, y’see). Also I am aware that none of these bands (except Hammers) are really local. But it happened in the local area. So it totally counts.

We arrived a bit late, I got a bit lost on the way to the 1 in 12 Club and called my buddy, Morgan, to find out where the hell we needed to go. While I was on the phone I could hear the opening chords to Odin’s Doom coming from Hammers. I knew I had to rush. Luckily, we weren’t too late and only missed a bit of the Hammers set. The sound wasn’t great, the bass was nice and high but the guitars were a bit low. Everything sounded a bit muddy. They played tight as always, and the crowd certainly looked like they were digging it. They played almost the exact same set as last time I saw them (which isn’t a complaint) so there isn’t an awful lot more to say on Hammers. They really are great though, you should definitely get out to see them soon.
The Wankys were next, much to my delight. I wasn’t familiar with their output before this gig, but I am a big fan of the bands they emulate such as The Swankys, Gai and other Japanese noise punk stuff. There was a few technical glitches, and the effect on the guitar meant they could literally play any note they wanted and it would not make a difference to the sound. It was good fun and very loud.
Brat Pack had popped over from the Netherlands to play some 80’s style hardcore punk, and boy did they play it well! They ploughed through about thirteen tracks of Adolescents style tunes and didn’t stop till everyone was into it. If there is to be a criticism laid on Brat Pack it would be that, while being excellent at what they do, they haven’t really forged their own sound. But that isn’t really a massive deal. I liked them enough to buy a CD which has already had a few spins.
I must admit, I was a bit let down by Gift Gas Attack. They played too sloppy for me to enjoy it at all and they made no real use of the dual vocalists. It was just one scream followed by another slightly different pitched scream. GGA played for a little bit longer than I would have liked but kept the studded jacket wearers engrossed for the whole set. I’m partial to a lot of Swedish crusty stuff, but this just didn’t do it for me. I haven’t written them off though, I’ll definitely check them out again.
I only caught was half of the Riistetyt set. I really enjoyed their older stuff but this sounded to me like a completely different band. The sludgy riffs seemed wrong and the vocals didn’t quite cut as they should. Maybe it got better, but we cut out before the end so I guess we’ll never know.
I didn’t stick around to watch Hygiene or The Shitty Limits, I was saving that for Lanc-Faster the following day! But thats another story altogether…

If you are about on Friday, I recommend you go to this and pick up the new album on sexy purple vinyl. The artwork is really awesome and the album sounds exactly like it does in my review a few blogs down. Unfortunately, I won’t be there as it is my anniversary. But go, and have a whale of a time. I believe The Freezing Fog will be playing a massive set spanning their short, but prolific, career.

You’ll have to wait a few days for Lanc-Faster review. I’m still trying to get over how awesome it was. It all needs to sink in.