Gig Review: Make-That-A-Takes Lethal Lottery at Banshee Labyrinth Edinburgh 19/7/15 by Avon (Turned Up Rolled Up)

The brilliant Avon from my favourite blog Turned Up Jeans & Rolled Up Sleeves is back with another guest gig review.

Not very many people told me to fuck off last time, so I’m back with another guest review for Colin. This time it’s for Make That A Take’s Lethal Lottery gig in Edinburgh on Sunday the 19^th of July.

In case you’re not a wrestling fan, Lethal Lottery is when you draw names out of a hat to determine who is fighting who, or in this case, the order in which the bands were playing. Sunday night was also the third night of the recent Murderburgers/Kimberly Steaks tour and seeing them in Scotland is always extra awesome. Unfortunately Revenge of the Psychotronic Man had to pull out of the gig at the last minute so the line-up on the night consisted of the Murderburgers, the Fur Coats (over from the states for a UK tour), the Lemonaids and the Kimberly Steaks.

First up were the Kimberly Steaks. It can be tough being the first band on, especially on a Sunday night gig, but it certainly didn’t stop them playing a great set. Sadly they didn’t play my favourite song by them/of the year so far, but they did play the two other original songs from their latest EP and they also played a couple of new, new songs which sounded fucking great. They tend to just play through their songs with very little chat in between, but to be fair the songs are so great you don’t need anything else.

The second band to be picked was the Murderburgers. They still don’t have a permanent drummer and their regular bassist wasn’t able to make this tour, so it was basically Fraser and two-thirds of the Kimberly Steaks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bad performance from the ‘burgers and they didn’t disappoint this time. It being a hometown gig also added to the party atmosphere – it’s hard to pretend to be a rockstar when your pals are in the audience shouting shite at you. I’ve seen them play a few times since they started working on their upcoming album and the new stuff they’re playing sounds better every time I hear it.

On third were the one band I’d never seen before – the Lemonaids. Again, this bands consisted of two thirds of KS (I honestly don’t know how Ross and Tom have the energy) and they were, for me, the highlight of the night. Aesthetically they have everything I love in a band – power stances, matching Hawaiian shirts, beards – and musically they were great. I don’t think they’ve played live yet this year but it certainly didn’t show. Like the others, they played some new stuff but I enjoyed finally hearing all their old stuff live just as much. It’s impossible to be grumpy when listening to them.

Up last were the Fur Coats. With a different drummer and bassist! Madness! I have a MTAT season ticket and so I got a copy of their new EP but I didn’t know them before that. I’d already seen them on Friday night in Dundee for the launch of said EP and they were great. Their singer has a really distinctive but lovely voice. He doesn’t sing quite as fast as Greig or Fraser (not many do to be fair) but he does chat a little more and they were a great band to end on.

MTAT really are very good at putting on gigs and this was no exception. The Scottish scene is incredibly welcoming and there was a gratifyingly decent amount of women in the audience too. In terms of atmosphere, crowd, energy and music this was the best gig I’ve been to since Masked Intruder in Glasgow in May. It was so good, in fact, that I forgot to take any photos so here instead is a photo of Mikel from the Lemonaids and Greig from KS singing karaoke/showing us their holiday snaps after the gig.

Album Review: Object by WaLL

WaLL are a four piece post hardcore band from Cardiff. On July 25th they will be releasing a brand new EP titled Object. They asked me to check it out, so I checked it out.

The first song on Object is named Blue. The track starts off with a noise that sounds like dogs barking before some aggressive vocals come into play. The word aggression is on my mind throughout the song, everything seems to be done with a certain amount of venom, anger and intensity and I'm wondering what's upset these guys so much. But it fires me up as well and I want to lose control while I'm listening to the song. The second song, Wage is a more controlled affair. There is still a certain amount of aggression in the vocals but the whole song feels like the band are holding back. It's good to show variation in the songs though, to be seen as a great band you can't just be a one trick pony. Things are changed up again on Butter, the third song. This feels very much like a experimental song where the band have just got together for a jam and Butter is the result. I really don't know how to describe it, I have no idea what's going on but I just can't stop listening. I suggest you check it out for yourself. The final song Surrender is a bit of an epic. WaLL change things up again, the first half of this six minute journey is so restrained and the lyrics are all done in the style of spoken word. Then when you least expect it the song explodes into life and everything gets loud, fast and angry. Then everything stops and a long period of feedback begins, I sat through this expecting something big to happen but nothing ever did. Felt kind of unnecessary. This shouldn't detract from whats a very listenable EP though. It's quite out there and different but that definitely shouldn't put you off. It's raw and it's passionate and everything that you probably love about punk rock but displayed in a very different way.

Buy Object here: https://wall-music.bandcamp.com/album/object

Like WaLL here: https://www.facebook.com/wallsounds

Now listening to Clumsy by Spineless Yes Men

Bens Top Tens - UK Venues

Here are Ben from The 4130's top ten UK DIY venues.

1. The Owl Sanctuary - Norwich. Hands down for me the best small DIY independent venue in the country right now. The 150 capacity works really well for a very special energy and atmosphere when full. The upstairs for travelling bands is amazing all kitted out with bunk beds and all the other things touring bands need. Dan and his staff work tirelessly to make sure everyone is happy.

 

2. The Lady Luck - Canterbury. A fave stop for my band. Played there quite a few times and its one of the only places in the country people come to see us ha! The venue its compact but it has a special atmosphere. Emma who runs the venue is a lovely lady and Dan from Spoilers and 7 Day Conspiracy, who sometimes puts us on is of course a lovely bloke to play for. The sound is always brilliant. The only let down is it’s a mission to load in sometimes but it’s a beautiful city and it makes a difference to find a venue with shops and places to eat really close.

 

3. The Union Bar - Hastings. Another independent venue that works really well and hard. I get the feeling of playing a squat when playing the tub and that’s not a bad thing at all they have a great scene down there. In-house promoter and soundman Harvey does a sweet job to make sure things run smooth only drawback is that its hotter than a McDonalds apple pie.

4. New Cross Inn - London. Only played here once but the venue is great, the picnic benches are a cool little touch. There is loads of room to hang merch on the side tables and the sound was really good.

5. The Steamboat Tavern - Ipswich. A long standing Ippo fave. Until recently it was ran by the queen of punk rock land lady’s Val Bint,  it's a tiny venue but has the most amazing atmosphere. I've seen Val in the past even feed touring bands that were booked for other Ipswich venues and got fucked over by two well known morons. In my opinion the steamboat has gone downhill now it's changed hands, I ran a show and was told to stop 40 punk rockers dancing to wonk unit or have the plug pulled.

6. Maguire’s Pizza Bar - Liverpool. Ohhh this place is amazing, they make the best pizza ever and the staff are all super nice. The venue is small and dark and that’s ok to be honest. I like playing places that equipment doesn’t need to be mic’d up, load in is fucking easy too, just what you need after a long drive.

7. Edge Of The Wedge - Portsmouth. This is one of the best venues I've ever played. I've loved every second of my time there, the shows that Ant puts on are rad. It's pretty much a venue on the side of a the actual venue, The Wedgewood Rooms. It's a bit of a tease as you can see the huge stage and venue and think "ohhh that’s where the good bands play one day" haha. Having said that The Edge venue has a special feel to it and the sound is great, I think Ant makes that place though, probably my fave promoter to be honest.

8. The Royal Oak - Ipswich. The only reason this isn’t at number 1 is because it's not active anymore, this was the best venue I'd ever played for the 2 best promoters to have ever been involved not just in Ipswich but the UK scene as a whole. Tammy and Mike made that place so fucking special, some amazing bands passed through The Oak in its time and it was weekly that good bands were coming in. The most consistently rad venue we ever had, the day that place died was a massive body blow and what I think was the final nail in the Ippo scene coffin.

9. The Pipeline - London. This venue is brilliant set downstairs of a popular London pub the pipeline has had some great bands pass through and its funk as puck the whole venue is geared towards this lifestyle.

10. The Winter Gardens - Rebellion Festival Blackpool. I wasn’t going to include huge venues but the winter gardens is amazing right by the sea in the middle of "Crackpool", it’s the only place I've ever been so nervous to play that I almost did a little sick before going on, as soon as you walk in you are just in awe of the place and history, the rebellion promoters and stage mangers still have a DIY work ethic and it’s the highlight of my year and many other peoples.

Album Review: I Want More by Greenhorn

I am a massive Less Than Jake fan and adore everything they've ever put out, even In With The Out Crowd. I also love Buddy's side project Coffee Project and Roger's band Rehasher. Rehasher have a brand new album out (review coming soon) and I was searching around the internet for that and I discovered Roger has another band named Greenhorn with Jen Vito from NoMore. Titled I Want More and released on Anchorless Records, I checked it out.

Greenhorns Facebook page describes their sound as pop punk/indie. After listening to the opening track My Own Way it definitely swings much closer the pop punk side of the description. Jen's vocals take the lead on this punchy pop number, managing to perfectly balance a punk attitude with some sugary sweet sounds. As you would expect it's incredibly catchy and the production on the track sounds crystal clear. Roger sings the next song - This Has To Mean Something. Roger places very highly in my list of favourite punk vocalists, he is one of the few singers who can manage to sound as good live as he does on record. Rogers vocal is so recognisable it feels like this track could fit as well on a Less Than Jake record as it does here. I also really enjoyed Jen's harmonise throughout the duration of the song. I Hit The Wall has a darker feeling to it. It's a lot more restrained than the opening two songs and is the first song to really feature Roger and Jen taking turns singing on the song. Their voices work incredibly well together. 

The fourth track Always Be The Same has my favourite intro on the record. Musically it feels like Roger is holding something back, it's nice to hear the more reigned in version of his voice. It's also another superbly catchy song that will have you singing along very quickly. Title track I Want More has an instantly recognisable intro, sounding to my uneducated ears very similar to the song I Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode. This is a great high energy pop punk music perfect for summer road trips. There are plenty of different tempo of changes in the song so it never feels like a pop by numbers song and Jens voice really shines again. Livin' On The Fly is the sixth and final track on the EP and is another where Jen and Roger share vocal duties. I really enjoyed the more ska sounding guitar work when Roger sang and Jen;s poppier punk sound. Both sounds really compliment their voices. I think they really saved the best track for last here as whilst review this I've listened to it about ten times in a row and have smiled during each and every listen.

I'm not really sure whether or not Greenhorn is fun little studio project for Jen and Roger or they are planning make it a bigger thing. Either way this is a very enjoyable release, something 15 year old me would have loved when first listening to pop punk or 29 year old me still loves to this day.

Stream and buy I Want More here: https://anchorlessrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-want-more 

Get more information from Greenhorn here: https://www.facebook.com/Greenhorn.Rock 

Now listening to Listen To Me by Spraynard