This
one rounds off 7 Swindon gigs in a row for me, in the space of just over 2
months… and yet, people bleat, nothing ever happens in Swindon…! Giving further
lie to that statement is the premise behind tonight’s gig; a 45th
Anniversary bash for Swindon Viewpoint, the longest-running community TV
channel in the UK, no less, which has since 1973 been documenting and covering
all the nothing that goes on in Swindon (he says ironically), as well as
championing local bands and original local music. Also a registered charity, so
this event was definitely worthy of support for just that reason. But that’s
not the reason for my attendance – so why am I here? Because Raze*Rebuild, of
course; honestly, you should know that much about me by now! Never one for
passing up an opportunity to shake a gammy knee or two to Swindon’s finest
purveyors of honest, hard-edged anthemic blue collar punky rock’n’roll, me, so it
was once again time to get all strapped up and off to The Castle, for my 13th
overall Raze assault and 5th time at The Castle!
Had
to wait for a parking spot in the usual car park at the top of the hill, but
still wandered around the corner just before the festivities were due to start,
Squeezed through to the back beer garden – a pretty decently attended one, this
– and met up with the Raze boys and fellow Raze devotee Paul Carter for some
rock chat, as usual. Eventually popped in to the venue to catch some of
Grasslands’ opening set… and out again after 30 seconds! The “experimental”
synth noise emanating from the stage was uncomfortable at best, and for me
sadly recalled Merz’ migraine-inducing set supporting Suede, many moons ago. A
quick chat with Paj (who on the whole was complimentary about Grasslands’
musical oeuvre) however convinced me I’d made the right move getting out of
Dodge. Sorry mate, not for me. Back in, though, after more rock chat with Mr.
Carter and former My Social Decline drummer Liam (now with Awakening Savannah),
for Flour Babies, running into Ady in the process! I’d just missed Flour Babies
at The Shuffle, and had been meaning to catch some of articulate new facebook
friend Gavin’s “proper” band, after enjoying his challenging side-project
Frances the Farmer recently. Da Babies were no less intriguing; after an opener
which sounded like a fairground parade in hell (and whose brevity prompted me
to ask a nearby Dave Franklin, “was that an actual song?”), they played a
languidly delivered set of lazy, hazy and 90’s-ish US style alt rock, recalling
for me the (just) pre-“Soft Bulletin” Flaming Lips, or Eels at their most
structured and laconic. Not much of the alleged Pixies comparisons for me (some
bits sounded like “Here Comes Your Man” and the vocalist occasionally adopted a
Frank Black primal howl), but lots of ideas and creativity, including some nice
quirky lyricism, “I saw you dancing around that traffic cone and god you looked
insane” being a fave of mine. A good and well-received set, during which I
chatted at the back with Ady and Mr. Franklin – sorry, I’ll pay more attention
next time!
No
chance of me not paying attention to the next lot, however; I grabbed a drink
then a spot down the front, as Raze*Rebuild set up in quick order, then invited
everyone forward, before powering into the balls-out, pedal to the metal set
opener “Burden Of Youth”. Despite my promising myself I’d take it easy, I gave
it loads from the outset, feeding off the usual bucketloads of energy and
adrenalin positively coursing from the stage and particularly from vocalist Si.
Unfortunately, however, tonight was an “off night” for the sound mix, Si’s
vocals sounding muffled and indistinct, prompting him to almost yell some vocal
parts, rather than adopting his usual strident vocal style, almost as if in
competition with himself. However, for Raze*Rebuild, poor sound is merely an
obstacle to be bulldozed over, and as ever, the sheer elemental brute force of
their performance obliterated any sound imbalance to utter insignificance. “Kat
I’m Sorry” was a huge bleeding-raw anthem, as well as a welcome slow-burn break
from my dancing, “New Leaf” saw me throwing shapes with wild abandon to its’
raw, amphetamine fast delivery, “All The Gear” was an urgent, rampaging
powerhouse, and after time restraints saw them cut other planned slowie “Sand
In The Petrol” (cheers guys, trying to kill me or what?), newie “Troubled Mind”
was a punked-up off-kilter delight, a worthy addition to Raze’s canon. All too
soon, closer “Back To The Fall” rounded off another bludgeoning landslide of a
set, Si and myself as usual competing for the title of sweatiest man in the
room (sorry Si, think I pipped you tonight!). Incendiary stuff again!
Hit
the outside, gasping for air like a fish flip-flopping on the riverbank, then once
I (eventually) regained my composure, I chatted to various folks while
headliners SexJazz were on, so I didn’t pay too much attention to their set
either! What I did hear appeared to be a mish-mash of musical styles played in
a frantic and barely coherent style, possibly in a similar vein to Bristol’s
Martyrials. Probably need to pay more attention next time!
Anyway,
more socialising with folks I knew (and a few I didn’t, but hey, that’s the
kind of guy I am!) eventually saw the time running away, so I bade my farewells
before I seized up completely, happy to have supported a worthy local cause and
also shaken my leg once again to Swindon’s finest, Raze*Rebuild!
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