Akupunkture is a name that doesn't inspire confidence in me, and the first minute of so of their set doesn't either, as it comes across like a kind of Rage Against The Machiney sloganeering chant. And there's that groove, which is all well and good, but when bands aren't able to actually switch out of the one groove groove that they have, then it can fall arse about tits. Fortunately, they then manage to proove me wrong, drawing the songs out and through a fair myriad of styles, including a more fluid, melodic almost emo-esque phases. They only seem to do about 3 songs in their alloted time, but it actually sounds like something that's worth checking out and persevering with.
Bionics are next. Surprisingly enough, another band I've not heard of. Definite case of apathy and total "can't be fucking arsed" has taken a hold this year. They're ok, but as I sit here to write this, I can't remember anything standout to actually say about them.
Last time I saw Dai Lo was in this very place not so long ago, as a late last minute replacement. That night the sound they had sucked, and I had to reach for the old ear-plugs. Tonight I've forgotten them, but luckily enough I don't need them, as for the most part the sound gremlins are gone, and in their place I can just enjoy the pure sound. Well, apart from Warhead, during which Shaun's microphone endures a painfully technical death, and Jonns doesn't fair much btter either. But they manage to overcome, and although all bar Warhead are actually new songs to me, they manage to triumph. Over the last couple of years, their music has moved on a bit from the instantaneous fix of the likes of Twist The Knife. Now the songs take longer to embed themselves in your head, although just to contradict that, the two new songs that we are apparently "the first people to hear" are fairly immediate and full of hooks. Other new tracks such as Push and Green Umbrella show the signs, signs that the 3 track CD that's now available seem to back up. It seems a long time since I first saw and heard them, and that there's been a lack of obvious progress in terms of them being in peoples faces. But with the recent touring they've been doing, and even a review I see in this weeks Mighty Plant of Rock that is K!, things look like they're moving along again. Which is good news. Very good news.