Route 215, London Camden Underworld
All Star Showcase, Metro Club, London.
I won’t lie, this was a bit of a dream line-up for me and I had been looking forward to it for months. But as with all shows with this much hype I was a little worried it wouldn’t live up to expectations. After all, I’d heard that SKIRTBOX’s new material has slowed right down; THE BOMBJACKS hadn’t played a show since the summer; and I’ve seen ROUTE 215 play so much recently I was worried the novelty might wear off. But as soon as I got into the intimate little venue, packed tighter than a jar of Robertson’s finest, I had a feeling it would be a special night.
So as I was saying, I’d heard SKIRTBOX have had a bit of a makeover, fortunately Carol Smiley wasn’t an influential figure in their song writing as their brutal 80’s metal riffs had enough potency to strip even the most narcoleptic of paisley wallpapers. I hadn’t seen SKIRTBOX play for about a year but in that time it looks like they’ve been busy in the writing department as they played a set virtually comprising of new material. In fact the only song they played which is available on disc was “Speared Love” which in itself has had a revamp. So gone are the furious skate-punk, double-time fuelled tech mayhem SB tracks of yesteryear. But the new material, although fundamentally different, still sounds very much like SKIRTBOX; the apparent 80’s metal influence in the older material is now at the forefront of their aural onslaught and things have slowed down to an iron pumping pace. What really blew me away though is how tight they were, it honestly was like listening to a CD! All in all, a really solid performance and with THE DARKNESS bringing on the 80’s metal revival SKIRTBOX could find themselves winning a load of new fans in the not too distant future.(7.5)
It was weird seeing THE BOMBJACKS play, after the summer I didn’t think I would see them ever again, so it was a real treat indeed. Considering they had only played one show since last summer I was more than impressed with their performance and from where I was standing, so was everyone else. THE BOMBJACKS rocked out how they do best; mid-paced punky influenced rock with the catchiest sing-a-long vocal lines ever, why this band isn’t huge is beyond me! Like label mates SKIRTBOX, THE BOMBJACKS are sensational musicians and immaculately tight as a band, with tonight being no exception. Along with the cheesiest front-man you could imagine, they could be headlining weddings up and down the country in no time. Their confidence on stage makes them instantly at ease with the crowd and watching them is a thoroughly fun and enjoyable experience. Although cult classic “Cut Loose” was missing from the set, the overall quality of their material was second to none. A new track they previewed has to get a mention; imagine a BON JOVI number put through THE BOMBJACK’s very own mincing machine, fantastic. (8)
I seem to have the undeniable pleasure of watching ROUTE 215 play, what seems like, almost every fortnight so far this year. Normally seeing a band this much would become dull and predictable, not with 215 though. I think they are one of those rare bands you could watch all day and still be as entertained as a cat with an old bit of string. Tonight they were really going for it though and were performing in their usual crazy-ass-mofo manner causing mayhem all over the place; it really does get breathless watching them sometimes. All the classics were present in the set (“Nancy”, “Push Me”, “Echo”, etc) as well as the inclusion of a couple of new songs; one, I remember, had a chorus more infectious than e-coli with the lyrics about Jesus being sexy or something along those lines…both songs were damn good and hopefully a tasty indication of what to expect in the future. They finished things off with the anthemic “Steal Your Soul” which ended up with frontman Rod, climbing aboard one of the P.A. speakers and guitarist Ryan, surfing the crowd whilst still playing, absolute madness and the crowd loved every bit. (8.5)
If ALL-STAR RECORDINGS can put more showcase gigs on that are this much fun, they’ll soon be turning away more people than the French immigration department. Apparently over 50 people couldn’t get in due to the venue reaching its full capacity early on in the night, and with bands this good I’m not surprised. The atmosphere was really special and it was a shame when the security people got really arsey and were unnecessarily aggressive when asking people to leave. On the whole though, a great show!
Mike
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