Support was from Whistlejacket and Big Deal. Both bands I’ve seen a few times. Big Deal I feel work better as a recording group as I think on record they have a brighter sound more melodious sound and Whistlejacket have never really impressed me. But tonight was definitely a much better performance than any I’d seen before. I might have to change my opinion.

PINS are up first. I’ve seen PINS once before and thought they were excellent. They’ve got a great garage-pop sound. Live they add infectious energy and great stage presence. What’s not to like. They appear to have added a keyboard player since the last time I saw them. This means the lead guitarist is freed up from keyboard duty to add more energy to their performance. As expected. It was a good performance and seemed to go down well with a decent size crowd.

Next up were Big Deal. I have to admit I was disappointed with their performance. The vocals seemed too low in the mix and I could hardly make out any of the vocals and when they did come through, they were at times, out of tune. Maybe the monitors were off on stage. But it wasn’t a performance to write home about.

Drenge are an interesting band. Two pieces have to work hard to be noticed. They also have to be careful not to fall into just producing noise. When I’ve seen them in the past. I’ve enjoyed their performances but they’ve not been quite top-draw. (The Wytches have often supported them, and the Wytches performances were always another level to Drenge’s). I was also less than impressed with the dynamics of their latest album which sounds like it’s a tenth generation cassette copy (I’m showing my age!). So I wasn’t sure what to expect. I need not have worried.

Drenge the two piece are now a three piece with the addition of a bass played and I have to say, what a good move. The bass player added much needed extra dynamics to both the music and the performance. The sound was much ‘beefier’ but achieved it without hammering the dynamics by adding more layers of guitar feedback. In fact the new songs that sound so muddy on record, sounded much clearer live. Something that’s not usually the case.

The crowd were also up for tonight’s performance. The great / bad things about bands who start to take off, is that you have to put up with pissed teenagers who just want to mosh. I’ve been there. I did the same when I was their age and at times I still do so. But I find when there’s a big mosh going on, I become a bit disconnected from the music as my brain starts to concentrate some of it’s efforts into staying on my feet. This happened a few times tonight and I zoned out of the music and into the collective movement of the mosh. I was happy when they finally played a quiet song and got a much needed break from the incessant crowd surfing.

Tonight’s new material slotted in remarkably well with the older material. I guess they’ve been playing it on tour for months because many of the songs seemed remarkably well bedded into the set and I have to say, tonight’s performance was on a higher performance level than any the previous times I’ve seen them play. In fact it’s worth my bruised ribs to see how far the band has come in such a short space of time.

Black Gold Buffalo were still playing when I arrived. They seemed to have their friends and fans out and the place was packed. They had a poppy sound. Not really my type of music, but I though it was done very well. I thought the lead singer did a great job and they sounded pretty good.

Next up was Big Deal. I’m not a big fan of theirs. They have a nice enough sound and a few catchy songs. I saw them last year and quiet enjoyed them but they didn’t convert me into a far. But as they were playing for free I thought I’d give them another go.

Although the crowd thinned out after the support act. Their short set was well received. I think they were playing a payed gig the next day do probably used the evening as a warm-up for their own tour. Unfortunately, for me, I’m more familiar with the first album and most of the songs were from their last album. Only playing the excellent Talk off the first album. But it was still and enjoyable evening.

Parlour

TRAAMS

Big Deal