A
late change of plans led me to this one tonight; I actually had a ticket for
the Frightened Rabbit gig at Bristol Trinity tonight, which I booked up before
I heard their current album and found it, well, a bit rubbish actually!
Monitoring their lists suggested they were also omitting my favoured tracks
from their last albums as well (including, criminally, easily their best number
in “Backyard Skulls”), so I was looking forward to said show with scant relish.
However, Brooklyn manic punk thrillers The So So Glos then announced a short
tour in support of current album “Kamikaze”, a darker, more “mature” sounding
album than their previous deliciously chaotic affair (and by “more mature”, I
simply mean, “the songs don’t sound as if they’re going to collapse over
themselves at any moment…!”) with a Joiners Arms date on the same night. After
a debate with myself about the ethics and economics of an unemployed man
booking 2 gig tickets for the same night, I looked into this gig and discovered
tix were only £7! Result!
So
a dilemma suddenly became a no-brainer, and I took a drive down in inky
blackness to Southampton, parking up a stone’s throw from the venue on
free-after-8 street parking. Yay! A band were already on, so I popped into the
sparsely-attended and smaller than I remembered “L” shaped pub back room to
catch the last half of their set. 4 Days Out, for such they were, had a very
Welsh sounding vocalist who was initially set up on the dancefloor, leading his
band through a decent line in stripped-back impassioned verses and dual vocal
attack, tumbling into more discordant choral noise – very emo-esque. After
asking for a, “follow the leader conga,” as he re-took the stage, they played a
final number, “Long Way Back”, which was a more straightforward indie rocker,
almost recalling Ash in a driven, hooky “na na na” chorus. Not bad!
I
then popped back to the bar, and enjoyed a chat with So So Glo brothers Ryan
and Alex, manning the merch stand, before checking out Scarecrow Boat, next up
in short order. A painfully young 2 girl, 2 boy combo, they announced, “we’re
gonna play some songs about Star Wars!”, but actually plied an effervescent
brand of youthful, spunky C86-influenced pop bounce, with tough, crunchy guitar
power chord overlays and bratty choral hooks. A lot like recent finds Martha, I
thought (a point I made to the vocalist afterwards, who seemed to take it as a
compliment), and I enjoyed both the song about spaghetti, which was delivered
in an impassioned vein by the blue-haired female guitarist, and their thrashy,
yelping cover of Brand New’s “Seventy Times 7”, both numbers epitomising a set
played with vim, vigour and enthusiasm. Smart and spritely if a little
shambolic around the edges, but hey, that’s the essence of rock’n’roll, right
kids?
A
couple of bright support sets in the books, and So So Glos next up… this was
shaping up to be a good night! A shame the clientele didn’t reflect my
enthusiasm, as the venue was still sparsely attended as the Brooklyn boys set
up, Alex eventually calling, “get those people from the back up here!” before
kicking into their set at 9.20. Straight into wild, thrashy opener “Dancing
Industry” and the more drum-dominated “Longview” sound-alike of “ADD Life”, the
double whammy openers of the new record, and they were immediately “on it”,
Alex wild eyed and kinetic, throwing Johnny Ramone poses with his low-slung
bass and exhorting the crowd to, “come down the front, I promise you’ll have
more fun!”, and his swarthy sibling Ryan all rock star leathers and bandana to
his right. I was already down the front, giving it as many as my dodgy knees
would allow, in prime position for the likes of the joyous Ramones-ish “Going
Out Swingin’” and its’ multiple goodbyes, the powerpoppy “Diss Town” with its’
skyscraping hook and “whoa-oh” mid-song pause, and the galloping, almost “Charming
Man” beat of “Lost Weekend”. Mature and darker newer material or no, The So So
Glos tonight delivered a fast, frantic and superfun set of Black Flag meets
Dickies US punk rock, manic and amphetamine fast, the raw ragged edges as ever enhancing
the experience.
“We’re
a dysfunctional band of brothers!” Alex announced, which summed it all up,
before a slightly shambolic but still ace “Wrecking Ball”, then a breathless 50
minutes concluded by Alex remarking, “we’re on the Brexit from the USA tour! We
see your Brexit and raise you a Trump!” before the joyous punk romp of “Son Of
An American”, probably the set highlight and a fitting closer. More chat with
the boys during “headliner” Faux’s reasonable if more formulaic indie rock set,
and an (eventually!) fully signed set-list was the punctuation point to a great
night. Drove home very buoyant – this was definitely the right shout!
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