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An early evening gig at the Tote seemed tempting, schoolnight or not, so we went with it.
We missed most of the bands, not wanting to rush off at 3pm and then having unexpected visitors, and arrived in time to catch the last half of Day I Die's set. I was never terribly fond of that hardcore sound before but it's been growing on me lately (i'd blame AFI for starters), especially if the vocals are at that higher end to make it less macho. Last night it was much too loud though, even for the Tote, which meant earplugs twice the usual size and a more muffled sound (seriously, if the crowd has to wear earplugs to dampen the sound, isn't something wrong with this picture?). That aside, they were very tight and energetic and i enjoyed it muchly. They also managed to prove the old truism that hardcore is really heavy metal without guitar solos by playing a song with guitar solos that was decidedly heavy metal (i think it actually was an Iron Maiden cover, though i can't swear to it).
Delta Speed Deluxe were next. We'd seen them once before, supporting the Casino Rumblers maybe two years ago, and i vaguely remembered liking them. Last night they were possibly the best of the bunch. It wasn't quite rockabilly but something not far from it, perhaps just over on the 50's rock'n'roll side of the fence, in a guitar heavy way. They reminded the hell out of me of someone, but i just couldn't put a finger on it (something from the vintage of bands like the Smithereens perhaps, but buggered if i knew who). Apart from straining my brain on that point, we both really enjoyed them and will have to see them again, though they don't seem to play very often (apparently they're a side project from a band called Crash and the Fender Benders, though i don't know anything about them).
Kingpin 400 were the main band of the night, and finally we managed to see them after meaning to catch them for a while. It was straight-ahead psychobilly stuff, stand-up bass and all, and i'd best describe their sound as very much like a thrashier version of Zombie Ghost Train, minus the horror angle. Much thrashier. The singer was a doppelganger for Cahl from Revelations and i had to keep reminding myself it wasn't him up there (actually, i spent a bit of the night noticing rockabilly doppelgangers of a few people from the goth scene, which was an interesting diversion). We enjoyed them as well, though the noise level had been turned up again since the relatively comfortable level they'd had for Delta Speed Deluxe, so the thicker earplugs were back in with associated muting of the sound, but that's life. Another one to catch again.
These early gigs are a great idea - finished by 9.45, home by 10.15. (Pity Friday and Saturday gigs don't run that early. Now, where's my walking frame?)
We missed most of the bands, not wanting to rush off at 3pm and then having unexpected visitors, and arrived in time to catch the last half of Day I Die's set. I was never terribly fond of that hardcore sound before but it's been growing on me lately (i'd blame AFI for starters), especially if the vocals are at that higher end to make it less macho. Last night it was much too loud though, even for the Tote, which meant earplugs twice the usual size and a more muffled sound (seriously, if the crowd has to wear earplugs to dampen the sound, isn't something wrong with this picture?). That aside, they were very tight and energetic and i enjoyed it muchly. They also managed to prove the old truism that hardcore is really heavy metal without guitar solos by playing a song with guitar solos that was decidedly heavy metal (i think it actually was an Iron Maiden cover, though i can't swear to it).
Delta Speed Deluxe were next. We'd seen them once before, supporting the Casino Rumblers maybe two years ago, and i vaguely remembered liking them. Last night they were possibly the best of the bunch. It wasn't quite rockabilly but something not far from it, perhaps just over on the 50's rock'n'roll side of the fence, in a guitar heavy way. They reminded the hell out of me of someone, but i just couldn't put a finger on it (something from the vintage of bands like the Smithereens perhaps, but buggered if i knew who). Apart from straining my brain on that point, we both really enjoyed them and will have to see them again, though they don't seem to play very often (apparently they're a side project from a band called Crash and the Fender Benders, though i don't know anything about them).
Kingpin 400 were the main band of the night, and finally we managed to see them after meaning to catch them for a while. It was straight-ahead psychobilly stuff, stand-up bass and all, and i'd best describe their sound as very much like a thrashier version of Zombie Ghost Train, minus the horror angle. Much thrashier. The singer was a doppelganger for Cahl from Revelations and i had to keep reminding myself it wasn't him up there (actually, i spent a bit of the night noticing rockabilly doppelgangers of a few people from the goth scene, which was an interesting diversion). We enjoyed them as well, though the noise level had been turned up again since the relatively comfortable level they'd had for Delta Speed Deluxe, so the thicker earplugs were back in with associated muting of the sound, but that's life. Another one to catch again.
These early gigs are a great idea - finished by 9.45, home by 10.15. (Pity Friday and Saturday gigs don't run that early. Now, where's my walking frame?)
