Grebo, Arts Centre, Norwich
*This was at the Marquee, Norwich*
Being possibly the coldest venue I’ve ever watched a gig in, when Chris Onslow says that he can see his own breath, he’s not lying. Having said that, even though frontman Greg isn’t his usual buoyant bundle of energy, the new and improved ONSLOW have matured into a formidable punk rock band. When you combine the fact that their new material is a fantastic mix of Pennywise and No Use For A Name with their obvious enthusiasm for playing live, you get a simply damn good punk rock show. The melody of ‘Line of Command’ sits comfortably with the off-beat quirk of ‘Shoe Shine For You Sir?’, and when ‘All Those Lost Days’ kicks in you can really see Onslow going places. Tonight they weren’t at their best, but ripping through oldie ‘Dress Rehearsal’ with almost casual confidence you get the feeling that when they aren’t playing freezing cold outhouses they’re going to make a lot of people take notice (7).
Tonight was my first exposure to the live talents of LONELY GREY COUCH, a three-piece from Yarmouth playing the melodic punk rock card with a confidence and ability beyond their years. I’m always impressed by a band looking comfortable on stage and LGC look like they play live every other day; such is their frankly amazing tightness and relaxed nature between songs. As for the music itself, LGC play a very catchy, riff-based variety of melodic punk rock that grabs you by the nuts and doesn’t let go. Laden with hooks and huge choruses, tonight LGC brought a slick show to Norwich and left quite a few people nodding in assent to their prospects for the future (8).
It has come to my attention that ALL BUT NONE got a bit of a kicking on Punktastic for their show at the Verge recently – all I can say is that the ABN I saw tonight were anything but shit. With a flair for dropping in inventive guitar parts and bracketed by Andy’s solid-as-fuck drumming, ABN have a knack for swift punk rock laced with big melodies and crunching riffs that sits between the hardcore bent of Strike Anywhere and Lagwagon’s straight-forward punk. Clearly confident and comfortable onstage even though the room isn’t exactly heaving, ABN are a strong live act and on tonight’s evidence will have a lot more good things written about them soon (8).
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that tonight belongs wholly to GREBO, the Bristolian three-piece making a name for themselves at the moment, and rightly so. With enough energy to kill a small horse and with the tunes to match, Grebo rock out onstage as only those who believe in what they play can, and frontman Ben’s ability to play some seriously fast riffs while singing is nothing if not admirably bold. I wasn’t familiar with them until tonight and suffice to say, they converted me to the cause with their catchy melodies and sheer speed. I can’t really find fault with the performance as I was a bit drunk, and I don’t think it’s unkind to say that this kind of punk rock fits perfectly with beer (as all good music should). Basically, tonight Grebo provided the ideal soundtrack to a great night out with some mates, as well as being visceral enough to grab the attention away from yet more drinking. Go see this band (9).
Ben
Options:»
Gig Reviews Index
