No introduction, let’s get straight to it...
I got there around 21:20 right about the time Narcosis were getting ready to begin their show. I and another 30-40 people who were there at the time heard an interesting mixture between Nirvana (mostly cause of the vocals) & Pelican. That’s the best I could describe Narcosis style. Thank goodness the venue provided a good crisp sound because with anything less, in a small space, this type of music can very easily become just loud noise. Speaking about their sound, I’d call it a perplexed sound that is complicated enough to be interesting and never cross the line to become too demanding for the listener and therefore boring. As for the band, they managed to have a decent stage presence with a minimum amount of movement. Also, very good guitar work and with a tight rhythm section.
Somewhere around 22:00 and with the crowd having doubled in number, Narcosis finished their set and 20 mins later the curtains opened and Sun, Rain In Life appeared. Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m an old fart, but I would describe their music as an evolution of the Nirvana sound, perhaps a little more melodic but noisy (in a good way) nevertheless. I really don’t have much else to say about them. A good, tightly wound band with noisily elaborate and yet easy to digest musical compositions. Highly enjoyable.
One thing I could say for both the supporting acts however is that I don’t know if they were the right choice to open for Barb Wire Dolls.
Around 23:15 the curtain opened for the last time and the headliners were on stage and ready to go. I have to admit I had never really heard their music. You know, I’d listened to the odd song here and there, but to be honest I had never actually gone through an entire album. First impressions: Good interaction with the crowd. The lead singer got off stage and joined the audience within the first 5 mins of the set. As for their music… it ain’t bad, but it ain’t great either. They defiantly have the punk rock appearance down, but personally I found it a bit forced. It’s like they’re trying too hard to be punk and in your face. Their moves at times looked like they came from a “How to Be a Punk Rocker” text book. The songs were loud, in your face but at the end of the day pretty empty and pointless. A rock star razzle-dazzle with sliding on the guitar, torn T-shirts (fashioned into a bra in the case of the singer), torn leopard coloured tights, leather pants, leather jackets with spikes on them, tattoos and all the rest. All there in my opinion to distract from the fact that the music (while not bad per say) is nothing to write home about.
You know what the whole thing brought to mind? You know that show “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”? Well a real life version of that. Without the sex change stuff of course. On the other hand maybe it’s just me, cause the crowd (around 100 people by that point) seemed to be enjoying themselves. Fists were raised to the air, a fair amount of head-banging and people cheering during and after each and every track. I don’t know. I didn’t feel it. I bet the photographs will look pretty cool though.
To be clear, I don’t think they’re posers or anything like that. They apparently want the audience to have a good time. No one can blame them for that, it’s a noble sentiment and I applaud it. I guess that’s what makes them try too hard and it does come out a bit forced at times. Apart from that, the truth is that they are a tight group. It’s clear as day they take what they do seriously and have dedicated hours and hours rehearsing their tracks.
Around midnight they did the whole pretending to leave, but actually not getting off the stage. Thankfully the audience caught up fast and started chanting “More! More!”. The band happily indulged them and played 3 or 4 more songs.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t a bad gig, but not one I’ll personally remember. I have to say though that the rest of the crowd seemed to disagree with me. By the end of the gig everyone looked like they had a pretty nice time.
Somewhere around 22:00 and with the crowd having doubled in number, Narcosis finished their set and 20 mins later the curtains opened and Sun, Rain In Life appeared. Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m an old fart, but I would describe their music as an evolution of the Nirvana sound, perhaps a little more melodic but noisy (in a good way) nevertheless. I really don’t have much else to say about them. A good, tightly wound band with noisily elaborate and yet easy to digest musical compositions. Highly enjoyable.
One thing I could say for both the supporting acts however is that I don’t know if they were the right choice to open for Barb Wire Dolls.
Around 23:15 the curtain opened for the last time and the headliners were on stage and ready to go. I have to admit I had never really heard their music. You know, I’d listened to the odd song here and there, but to be honest I had never actually gone through an entire album. First impressions: Good interaction with the crowd. The lead singer got off stage and joined the audience within the first 5 mins of the set. As for their music… it ain’t bad, but it ain’t great either. They defiantly have the punk rock appearance down, but personally I found it a bit forced. It’s like they’re trying too hard to be punk and in your face. Their moves at times looked like they came from a “How to Be a Punk Rocker” text book. The songs were loud, in your face but at the end of the day pretty empty and pointless. A rock star razzle-dazzle with sliding on the guitar, torn T-shirts (fashioned into a bra in the case of the singer), torn leopard coloured tights, leather pants, leather jackets with spikes on them, tattoos and all the rest. All there in my opinion to distract from the fact that the music (while not bad per say) is nothing to write home about.
You know what the whole thing brought to mind? You know that show “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”? Well a real life version of that. Without the sex change stuff of course. On the other hand maybe it’s just me, cause the crowd (around 100 people by that point) seemed to be enjoying themselves. Fists were raised to the air, a fair amount of head-banging and people cheering during and after each and every track. I don’t know. I didn’t feel it. I bet the photographs will look pretty cool though.
To be clear, I don’t think they’re posers or anything like that. They apparently want the audience to have a good time. No one can blame them for that, it’s a noble sentiment and I applaud it. I guess that’s what makes them try too hard and it does come out a bit forced at times. Apart from that, the truth is that they are a tight group. It’s clear as day they take what they do seriously and have dedicated hours and hours rehearsing their tracks.
Around midnight they did the whole pretending to leave, but actually not getting off the stage. Thankfully the audience caught up fast and started chanting “More! More!”. The band happily indulged them and played 3 or 4 more songs.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t a bad gig, but not one I’ll personally remember. I have to say though that the rest of the crowd seemed to disagree with me. By the end of the gig everyone looked like they had a pretty nice time.
photos by Babbis Michalopoulos
