Hello friends, welcome to The Listening Booth, where I lecture people on what music I’ve been putting in my ears while occasionally working out some personal issues. I don’t think there should be too much of the latter this week, but you never know. We’re diving into some feminist post-hardcore, Italian, em, tech-hardcore? I honestly don’t know what you’d call it, and a ramble about something completely different. Enjoy.
Continue reading “The Listening Booth – Petrol Girls, Destrage and Slam Dunk”Kamikaze Girls and Nervus w/Goodbye Blue Monday
Edinburgh on a Wednesday night can be a tough place to play a gig. Always a harder city to pull a crowd in than Glasgow getting anyone through the doors of Bannerman’s should be considered a success. When you’re selling a bill of emotionally switched on indie punk bands, it should be seen as a God damn triumph. This particular Wednesday night was nowhere near a sellout, but there was a healthy crowd for the double bill of Nervus and Kamikaze Girls.
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Lost Evenings
Reviewing the entirety of Lost Evenings is too big a task for me. I am but one man. From making new friends in the pub to Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls reigning supreme over the Roundhouse, it was a smorgasbord of incredible moments and beautiful music. Plus, a shitload of beer. I got a lot of words bouncing around this head but getting them all onto paper won’t be easy.
Deftones w/ AFI
As AFI play to a fairly full SECC in Glasgow, you have to wonder whether they have been away for too long. Everything on stage sounds great. The Blood Album is their best album in a long time and songs like ‘So Beneath You’ manage to fill the cavernous room. Davey Havok’s voice is untouchable and as he roars through ’17 Burials’ it feels like they should be laying waste to the place. So, why does no one care? Most of the crowd are stood still, watching respectfully but with as much passion as an atheist who has been roped into Sunday service. It’s been eight years since AFI were in the UK and you worry that people have simply stopped caring. What you’re watching on stage suggests that this band can still be a big deal and ‘Miss Murder’ perks people up, but judging by Glasgow, they’ve got a way to go before the UK is back on side.
The Menzingers w/ The Flatliners & The Dirty Nil
Music to dream to would be a nice way to describe this particular tour. The Menzingers are on the road with bands that are perfect for long drives down American highways with the windows down. At least they feel like they are. As a resident of Scotland, it’s not a theory that I’ve been able to put the test. The closest I can come is seeing how they feel at the Oran Mor in Glasgow on a Saturday night. Spoiler, they feel pretty good.
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Creeper w/ Milk Teeth, Energy & Puppy
For all we bemoan a lack of album sales and extortionate ticket prices, there is a build it and they will come mentality in rock and roll. If you can put together a touring bill packed with greats, then the people will be there. Which is exactly what Creeper have done. Only two days after the release of their debut album they stalk in that goth way they do into Glasgow and bring with them one hell of a party.
Gojira w/Code Orange & Car Bomb
Something angry was stirring in Glasgow on Friday night, and for once it didn’t include Buckfast. Car Bomb are one pissed off proposition, and they’re not designed to make you feel at home. Their disjointed and angular metal is hard to listen to at times and yet as they roar through a half hour set you can’t help but love them. These guys have been around for a while and with three albums under their belt are a perfect proposition for anyone that likes their music to attempt grievous bodily harm.
Heavy Scotland Battle Of The Bands Night 2
After the success of the first night, Heavy Scotland’s Battle of the Bands rages on as four more group go head to head for the chance to open the festival’s main stage on Sunday the 2nd of April.
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Skindred w/ Raging Speedhorn & Perpetua
JD and Coke, heavy metal and Marshall and Skindred on a Friday night. Some things just work and damn that last one works. In fact, Skindred on any day of the week gets the thumbs up, but with the joy of knowing that there’s no work tomorrow and you can sleep away the repercussions of the party, well that’s just lovely.
Heavy Scotland Battle Of The Bands Night 1
Heavy Scotland are, in their words, looking to help grow the Scottish metal scene. Bringing over Behemoth is a good start, but if they really want to do that they need to get some locals on the bill and they’ve found the perfect way to do it. Over three nights, eight bands will go head to head to fight for the opportunity to open the main stage of this two-day festival on the Sunday. The first night gave us a glimpse at who could take their place on that stage.
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Ramblings About Wrestling 