The Driven. Irish I think, and with a singer who carries an acoustic guitar at all times. It was pleasant enough, but that was all. Didn't move me at all, not even to the bar, but that was only cos I was driving. I can imagine that they may get quite large, but not through my custom.
3 Colous Red. Not my favourite band. I'm trying hard to be objective, but this is one band that I find it difficult to be with. Every time I hear them or see them, I think hype and creation. Yes, they sound like the Wildhearts quite a bit, yes they're punky, and yes they have some catchy songs, and if it's your fashion statement at the moment, then any hair that might have been long, is now regulation spiky hair cut. The rock media loves this band and will take great pleasure in ramming them down everyones throat in the next 12 months. And they will become big, but, well, ever meet someone and you don't know why, but you just don't like them, and it's almost instant. Well, that's it. See, people say that this sort of music, it's got the energy, the soul the passion. Something like more metal style isn't able to have passion and soul, Oasis are passion cos of the style the play and whatever. Well, crap, it comes from within, and if within is false, then so is any passion and soul that emanates from it. And that's how I feel with this lot. Sure, the songs are ok, but I don't get or believe that passion that is there.
Skunk Anansie. To an extent, I could level a similar charge here. I dunno, first saw them support Killing Joke, just before the first EP, Selling Jesus, and the standout memory was Skin's singing. And it still is. No bones about it, she is a damn fine singer. But sometimes I feel that combined with her appearance, is enough to sell to the masses this band, that there is something different. But if you listen to the music, quite often there isn't. That's not to say it's bad, but it isn't as original as some other stuff out there, and not as original as some would have you believe. Take the latest single, Everyday Hurts, that was played tonight, and got a great reception, as did everything, and lots of people bouncing up and down. But, er, like, that bass line could be transferred from a lot of Iron Maiden songs. But would people accept the song from them. No. Cos it's not trendy to, and they are old and tired and etc, etc, blah.
See the music's not new. Sometimes it's image over substance. Now if all bands were like say Metallica, and moved on with the times, got a new image and whatever, then we are told how they are now doing it with emotion and honour and integrity, and that we should just, catch up with the times and not be stuck back then . But that's only the image. And the people saying all this, are half the time telling us to break the image cos image doesn't matter. But what they are really saying is image does matter, just if you want credibility, then you have to get a new image, to show that you can, and to show that you really are you. To show you can appreciate the emotion and feeling. But hold on, aren't those things supposed to be independant of image. Yeah they are of course, unless you have the wrong image. Silly me. Notice the dominating word throughout this, and it's not down to badly written English, it's because Image is such a dominating factor, even when people are at pains to tell you it's not. I forgot there for a minute that everyone's a hypocrit and twists things to suit their own needs. And yes that does include me, but hey, I'll admit it. Will you admit to being one?
The songs are good, they are delievered with enthusiasm, greeted with more enthusiasm and played with energy, especially from Skin herself. But I can't help but feel, that sometimes, well, the trend's there and taking over, cos much of the music is really quite plod rock sort of stuff. Would half of the audience give that sort of music the time of day normally. I don't think so. But trend dictates that singing 'This is fucking political' is a good thing, to gain mucho applause.
Ah well, enough of my grouching, may have caught me on a bad night, songs, well, most of them off Sunburnt and Paranoid, and the latest Stoosh. So there's Weak, Hedonism, Everyday Hurts, All I Want, Selling Jesus, Little Baby Swastika, Charity and the others. Nothing wrong with any of that. But this theme running through the review about emotion and feeling in songs and whatever. Tonight was a night when to me, feelings transcend the music which is trendy at the time, and at the moment, that's seen by the press and others to be the only way any music has 'Feeling', if it's trendy. New Moby doesn't cos it's rockier right, new Metallica does over old cos it's gentler right. You can't have emotion if you're screaming on your music or playing fast. You can't have something that touches people unless it's political or seen to be a deeply moving personal thing right. And that is easily achieved by having the right look, standing stock still and closing the eyes. Well, it works for a lot of bands. But if you do it with the wrong look, the wrong image, then you are pseudocheesymetalshouldvebeenkilledinthe80's wannabes. Bollocks, the true emotion is within. Not the trend of music or the image you portray.
Yep, they must have caught me on a bad night.It's not so much Skunk Anansie that pissed me off, more the general attitude that's going on right now in music, and this happened to be the gig that i chose to spout off over. Especially the fact that there were fights going on around me, and then people led a witchhunt with security to find one half of the fighers. Let it be, done and dusted. But see, people are showing emotion and cutting edge by listening and attending this at the moment, but don't accept everything else that sometimes goes with it. You probably have no idea of what I'm trying to say anyway, cos I've expressed myself badly. No matter, I've expressed myself, and hey, that's enough these days right!
But what does all this matter. The band are selling out all their gigs, the momentum is there, the wagon is rolling, and at the moment, the press are more than happy to hitch a ride. And the fans are happy. Just remember it all in 10 years time when what you held dear now is accused of having been naff, old hat, and basically, a waste of time in light of the radical new shit.