Archive for January, 2010
Dananananaykroyd @ Scala, Kings Cross
Jan 11th
29th October 2009: Dananananaykroyd, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Calories @ Scala, Kings Cross
Scala, could quite possibly be the best venue in London if it wasn’t for 2 things. A) bar prices are terrible £3.80 for a lager and B) the location of the bar/facilities are about a 5 minute march from the main arena. Having to ascend 4 flights of stairs and march 5 minutes every time I feel to need to visit the little boys room is not ideal in any one’s book!
Despite this the main arena is tiered within a very intimate space. Sound was good but that did not phase the first band this evening from putting on a show to forget.
Calories
Calories first and foremost should never ever be your band name! It’s right up there with the terrible band names ever! Secondly they played simply indie music without any real outstanding instrumentation or emotive soul. Thirdly their singer could not hit the right note even if it jumped down his throat and tried to sing itself, some were truly shocking and hard to listen to. When they finally managed a collective harmony this greatly improved things which wasn’t at all bad. All too soon the failed x factor contestant vocals were back and i switched off again…time to get the walking boots on and trek to the bar.
I was expecting big things from Dinosaur Pile-Up and that’s exactly what we got. Grunge dies long ago and wasn’t noted for its happy tales. Put fun and grunge together into a pot and stir it with the big pop stick and you get their superb sound. High Volumes, energy, great vocals and riffs Cobain and co would have been proud of were the pivotal cornerstones of their set tonight. Summer Hit-Single is destined to be exactly this, its fantastic guitars and equally immediate vocals epitomised all that’s good with them. Each song was engraved in your brain after one chorus, your singing along by the second, you know all the words by the third, and your still humming them on the tube home!
Dinosaur Pile-Up
A Great set and with more fine tracks than a formula one season including the distinctly grunge Melanin, the punked up rock of Traynor and the pop buzz of Opposites Attract. Keep a close eye they will be selling out much bigger venues near you very soon, I’m sure!
Dananananaykroyd
Left reeling from Dinosaur Pile-Up we dived back in again for the ones we came here for Scotland’s comically titled Dananananaykroyd. With a name mixing Blues Brothers legend Dan Aykroyd and the batman heme tune you can only hope their music is as great as their name. I can declare it’s actually much better! Tight guitars each purposefully struck exactly where they need to be with technically complex riffs bordering on prog were instantly likable.
Dual singers were so you and full of energy with more than a few dodgy dance moves were the key to their performance. Each trading lines like blows in a world title fight each trying to outdo the other for vocal title belt. Could not understand a damn work but i really loved this dynamic twosome. Their energy was infectious as it swept over the crowd causing a lot more dodgy dancing and bustle in crowd central. I do not understand how some of the kids seem to be dancing as if they were being electrocuted, maybe I’m just not down with the youth of today.
The adolescent faced singer, the one not wearing a poncho, asked the crowd not to bash dance, and instead go for from on side of the room the other and hug each other. Yes you can tell this wend down like an indie kid at a death metal show, pushing shoving and disaster is all that followed…fun to watch though.
They played the majority of their debut album with standout moments coming from Pink Sabbath, Black Wax and Some Dresses. They played with maturity way beyond their years and with more exhilarating shows like this they are going big places, very soon!
Heaven’s Basement @ Bridgehouse2, Canning Town
Jan 6th
9th September 2009
Canning Town is not a name which immediately stands out from the crowd as a great location for music venues, but this is where we find ourselves this evening. Wandering through a not very desirable industrial estate (complete with boy racers and typical east-end boozers), we emerged in front of the Bridgehouse2. The major merit of this venue are that there wont be any noise complaints given the fact it’s situated in the arse end of nowhere. Inside it’s just a standard micro-venue, staff were great and its size it promoted a great interaction between fans and musicians.
After the bassist of Heaven’s Basement departing the band only 2 days previous, you would have thought that they had already suffered their fair share of bad luck, wrong! A power cut before the show forced the late start of the evening and a late arrival for the first of the three warm up acts on this packed bill tonight.
Decedenze eventually took to the stage and begun throwing out power chords as if their lives depended on it. The Wrexham boys set was fizzed with vitality, scorching guitar play between their dual axe wielders, rocking rhythms and a knack for a good vocal hook. Their setup was perfect as their Les Pauls let fly some of the best guitar riffs of the evening. A solid and very professional set with plenty of merit, a definite step up from their current recorded material. Keep eyes on these guys.
Decadenze
The Infamous, quite frankly have very little going for them. I have not witnessed such an identity clash within the same band as these guys. Their lead guitarist desperately wants to rock, but the mufflings from his hugely underpowered setup leave him more likely to be whispering on the wind of the door shutting his ass out of here! Their bassist clearly wants to be the lead guitarist. At least the volume on his amp was above 2, however drowning out the lead guitarist isn’t going to do you and favours either. Finally rounding off the identity crisis is the hoodie wearing lead singer with idiotically oversized aviator shades donning a Mr. Rude Boi T-shirt. Style wise he has more in common with Vicky Pollard than Axl Rose. His attempts at rocking out looked like an 18-30 rep after his 30th beer on the dance floor in Ibiza. Can’t comment on the music, all I heard was bass rumblings and flashy mimed guitar solo’s!
The Infamous
Night By Night were a far more professional outfit, sounded good and had a few super little tunes. I haven’t seen a mullet this shocking since the first appearance of John Bon Jovi’s shaggy locks! But that didn’t seem to bother the lead singer as he soared his radio friendly pop-rocking vocals. Plenty of noteworthy guitar licks later they brought to a close a solid set of well performed 80′s indebted radio rock.
Night By Night
Heavens Basement took to the stage like wounded animals, left reeling from their mid-tour departure of their long term Bassist. Feeling a void onstage they did not let this get them down and bit back with a vengeance. Substitute Bassist (rhythm guitarist Johnny Rocker) had less than 1 days practise to learn enough tracks on his new instrument to ensure this show even went ahead at all!
Richie Heavenz
Fears were cast swiftly aside as their opening track Can’t Let Go was a riotous romp of rock and roll genius. They proceeded to fly through the best of their early demo’s and tracks from their latest eponymous EP. Guitarist Sid was doing his mighty best to fill the gap left by rhythm guitars which he managed admirable letting fly riff after riff, solo after solo. Vocals were as spot on as ever, leading the crowd in sing-along’s to match the great stadium rockers.
Sid
Front man Richie Heavenz was very honest this evening, speaking about their bands misfortunes (as it conspires this was the last show they played on the UK leg of the tour). Was nice to hear a very down to earth personality who can connect with his crowd on a personal level. He says in his finest welsh accent:
“I’m sorry, to you all. But this will be the worst Heavens Basement Show you will EVER see….”
Johnny “Bass” Rocker
If tonight was the worst, then roll on the good times, because they managed a cracking show which was superb in the face of adversity…the hallmark of a truly great band! Expect many more nights of great live music from Heavens Basement.
