DUNDEE LIVE - BANDS TO WATCH!!
WITCHBLADE + HOT MANGU + PARIAH - Hustlers 20-09-08
This one got so twisted, I've completely forgotten who was meant to be playing in the first place - certainly none of this lot, that's for sure!! Still, lucky they did play as all three had something to offer.
For those not quite familiar with the names, this was heavy metal night - but heavy metal night with a vein of quality and a rich mine of variation at its centre.
Kicking things off, we had what was the debut appearance by Dundee's Witchblade, and what a set it was too. You would never have thought that this could be a debut set. All the rehearsals, clearly paid off as this massive blast of Iron Maiden-esque metal, roared out of the PA system, the band flaring up like a supernova and the singer letting loose with a seriously strong voice. As a set, you had it all - riffs, solos, storm force rhythms - the works. Song-wise, on first hearing, there didn't seem to be anything that particularly stuck in the brain, but when you're standing there in the middle of a massive heavy metal onslaught such as this for the first time, you tend not to notice detail. Either way, it sounded great and there was structure, substance, direction and cohesion, and you know that it will only be two or three sightings before the songs really do start to register.
In contrast, Aberdeen's Hot Mangu, making their first appearance on a Dundee stage in aeons, played their heavy rock with a whole lot more swing, more funk and more dynamics, keeping firepower but wrapping it up in a clear slice of rock variation. The trio delivere a set that was clear and strong, heavy and funky, metallic with feeling. The singer could be heard and the work from the trio was at times instrumentally reminiscent of something akin to Hughes-Thrall or similar. The fact that they sounded stronger than ever, and played a set to which you could headbang and dance, as well as having a clutch of memorable songs, made their performance the star turn of the evening.
Pariah were loud - we're talking L-O-U-D!!!! In fact, I've never heard a band turn it up so loud in the venue and for the building and its human contents not to explode. A nuclear blast of fiery heavy metal, they raged and rolled their way through a mass of typically metal songs, glimpses of everything from Saxon to Metallica, Irin Maiden to Slayer, coming through in waves. I say "coming thru" although you really had to lok under the mighty wall of metal tearing at you at hurricane force, to see the virtues of the songs that the band were singing and playing. Respites came in the form of some cutting guitar leads, breaks and solos, while the sheer savagery of the riffing and rhythms, within a decidedly Classic Metal context, was enough to bring grown men to their knees, which arguably they could have done if they'd played any longer!! Anyway, there's a fine metal band lurking beneath the wall of sound - let's only hope we get to hear it.
We'd actually had to put the first band on quite early in the event, the result of which was that the whole thing finished just after eleven. So, pleasantly surprised, I did what only an Andy G would do - and ran at light speed round to The Doghouse to catch............
PAGE 6 - The Doghouse 20-09-08
I've said it before and I'll say it one more time - in terms of Dundee bands, Page 6 are in a league of their own. For a start, they are the supreme masters of self-publicity. Everything they have achieved has been completely independently attained, a remarkable feat considering just how swift the rise has been. That a packed Doghouse was there to witness the last ever performance of the current selection of songs that make up the Page 6 set as it has stood for over a year, was also a testament to, not only the songs themselves, but also the live delivery. For Page 6 have turned in a supremely commercial debut album that's positively faultless, an album that sees funk, dance, indie, rock and ballad, all combining to achieve true greatness, and put that out to the live arena with a stage presence that is commanding, a live sound that is clear and mighty, playing that's tight and purposeful, and a group sound that's faultless. Tonight was no exception. With vocalist supreme, Ryan, dancing like a dervish around the stage, the audience hanging on his every word and movement, the bassist took his usual classic fusion-styled stance, hunched over the instrument and unleashing this floor-shaking monster of funky thunder, while our fave guitarist cut thru with clean, crisp and searing lines of riffing and lead breaks, all propelled and kept together by some solid drumming from the back. From the irresistibility of the choppy anthem that is "Dancing Boy", through the smiling slice of memorable funk-pop that is "Antics" right through to a storm force climax of funk-rock proportions that had the entire audience leaping about, this was proof positive that, when they come back in 2009 with new songs and a new set, their stature will rise faster than a Gary Rhodes souflee. One amazing band whose best is, amazingly, yet to come - when it does, I'll be there - make sure you are too!!
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