The Underground Stage
“It’s almost two years since I last saw Unity Floors (back at the beloved and missed Lansdowne in 2014) but they’ve clearly not been resting on laurels or taking it easy. They were always an accomplished pair, comfortable playing live and full of tune, but tonight they’re in another gear. Their 2013 Exotic Goldfish Blues […]
“In a comical tagging accident, the Shrapnel that are playing tonight are not the thrash-metal Shrapnel tagged on the Facebook event page. I honestly can’t work out if I’m disappointed about this. On one hand, it would have been a weirdly fun thing to see an actual thrash band, in the wild, between the mind-bending […]
“There is an unholy racket floating up from the bowels of the earth underneath The Chippendale. It sounds like a bad smell, like something’s died in a gym sock, wafting up from the underground into the Friday night party in the beer garden. This turns out to be Party Dozen’s soundcheck (and not the zombie […]
“There’s only two of Wavevom but Newcastle seems to be bursting at the seams with energetic punks, and these two balls of kinetic madness fire it up from note one and don’t stop. Most two-pieces seem to try super-hard to compensate for being so sparse, and fill the sound out to make sure it sounds […]
“I’ve been trying to see White Blanks for a couple of years now, and for dumbass reasons kept missing them. Tonight is a lesson in delayed gratifcation – holy hell, they were fun. It’s way too easy for bands to let influences override personality, so that what you’re trying to sound like drowns out who […]
“Grouse’s recorded stuff on the internet doesn’t even get close to doing this justice. The mp3s reek of 90s Britain but are lit by a beachside sunset – there are guitars, sure, but, it’s laid back and chill. Live, it tears the damn paint off the walls. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d sound like […]
“Pist Idiots sound and act exactly like you think they do – until, brilliantly, they don’t. With a name like that and openers like “Surry Hills” – with its mentions of constable-related trouble – this is Sham 69 territory all the way. But halfway through they drop one that channels the Detroit Cobras. Then there’s […]
“The crowd is now completely mashed up sideways. Wishing the OAF a Happy Birthday gets you a cheer like you’ve just offered to buy the place a round. Being fair to Dorsal Fins though, they’d have likely got a cheer anyway. If nothing else, their sheer commitment to making every bugger in the place dance […]
“By this point in the night, the wheels are in serious danger of falling off for the crowd, so Good Boy’s rickety, serrated guitar pop is just what most of us need. Brimful of energy, happy as a bag of clams and a roaring trainload of good times.” Facebook | Instagram | Twitter