Chaplin’s, Boscombe
It’s Thursday night down the Cellar Bar as we welcome 3 Punk bands of very differing styles for an evening’s entertainment. Once again floor space is minimal with kit everywhere! However, once sound checks are done parity is resumed. First up are local Post/Punk trio Skaema. Once again the collecting buckets are out for their favoured charity Diverse Abilities. They recently raised a respectable £300+ at their official album launch – a tidy sum for a relatively new outfit.
Anyway, on to tonight. After appealing to our generous sides re: the buckets; they open with “Happy Daze”, which is, in fact, their sound check. No glitches here as they follow that with “Hey”. Live favourite ‘Devil in a Dress’ is about the Drummer’s ex-wife, after this they unleash a new song in the shape of ‘Fence Sitter’. Keeping with the Post/Punk theme it is delivered with Duncan’s brooding bass and Neil’s dark, throaty vocal, but one can’t help detecting that heavy Stranglers influence. They dispense with the keys at the end in favour of the guitars which works for me. “Joker” is again aimed at Trump – in future they may have to find another target. “Payday” precedes the dark undertone of “Go West”. The altogether brighter “Sidewinder” is as brilliant as ever before another new song is announced. “Dead behind the Eyes” (for me) needs some work. The chord changes and stop/start layers make it a hard listen for now, but if it’s a work in progress then I’m sure they can maybe tweak it a little. Penultimate track “Take The Last Exit” precedes my new favourite “The Sea”, (dedicated to our lovely town). Skaema continues to push the boundaries, and on the back of a brilliant debut LP they strive to come up with its follow-up. Not content to just be a one town live act they have put together a tour schedule taking in many other towns, which will serve them well. And the fact they are driven so much toward charity makes me like them even more.
And so to the band I have come to see. I knew the name Kretinz from “the scene” but had yet to see them play. They get up on stage with little fuss and proceed. Al (bass/vox) has the biggest grin in the house as they announce themselves and open with “Bitch Anthem”. Their ramshackle sound is disjointed at best. I notice that Raff (guitar/b.vox) is wearing flip flops – now I know summer is on the horizon but it’s not very Punk Rock! Ironically “Summer Dress” follows. Al insists on leading the cheers after every song which smacks of nerves to me. I don’t understand why as he isn’t afraid of his own voice. “I Believe I Can Fly” follows. Their sound is somewhere caught between 2nd and 3rd Wave with influences from right across the board. I pick up snippets of TV Personalities, Bragg, Fugazi and Subs to name four. Their songs largely feature personal themes – “Nightmare Neighbour” is decent enough before they announce their token cover. “Achy Breaky Heart”, oh dear – best left alone in future chaps. They follow that with “Choo Choo” which is lost on me but their last three songs do give me some hope and optimism for their future. Al is still grinning as he gives the back story to “Gawd Damn Kids” which is better and they end on a high with “Behind the Music”, where Al forgets some of the lyrics! Kretinz have a great name and a logo straight outta the Pop/Punk manual, however, their sound is a mishmash of styles. They can obviously play, I just feel with a little work and one or two killer anthems they might go somewhere. Seriously though guys, drop that cover!
And so to the headliners. On the back of an opening slot for the UK Subs last weekend, returning (local) heroes KTC take to the stage. It’s a similar set to last week with less banter from Adam (guitar/lead vox). They explode into life with “On Trial” before Steve (drums) aggressively announces “196 Walls”. His hitting tonight is ferocious and Adam is bantering less – at one point Rowan (bass) just tells him to “get on with it”! “The Alarm” precedes a heavy “For Honour” while “Herd Mentality” remains (for me) one of their standout tracks. Crowd favourite ‘Shotgun Shelly’, written about one of our local dame’s gets mild crowd participation before I leave for the early bus (which for once was on time)! I imagine the guys finished their set in style if last week was anything to go by. A decent crowd attended tonight on a school night and the scene looks in good shape going forward. Thanks once again to Mr. Conrad Barr for sterling deskwork and great tuneage between bands. Another fine evening had by all on the local Punk scene.
Set Lists
Skaema
Happy Daze
Hey
Devil in a Dress
Fence Sitter
Joker
Pay day
Go West
?
Sidewinder
Dead behind The Eyes
Take the Last Exit
The Scene
Kretinz
Bitch Anthem
Summer Dress
I Believe I Can Fly
Nightmare Neighbour
Achy Breaky Heart (cover)
Choo Choo
Ghost Nan
Gawd Damn Kids
Behind The Music
Kill The Colossi
On Trial
196 Walls
Another Bad Day
The Alarm
For Honour
Herd Mentality
Shotgun Shelly
Better the Devil You Know
Detonator
Fuck the Tax Man
Encore
Jah War (Ruts D.C. cover)
Outsiders
Videos
Links
http://www.killthecolossi.com
http://kretinz.bandcamp.com
http://www.skaema.bandcamp.com
Review, Videos and Pictures by Ross a. Ferrone.
