It's been a while since I visited the Corporation nightclub back in my home town of Sheffield, and it was pleasant to revisit the sticky floor and the lack of oxygen for a night of mayhem. After catching up with old friends from my days hanging around the Sheffield dark alternative scene, the lights went down and the stomping began.DIRTY K
Right, I don't generally like this brand of Industrial music that much, but Dirty K's own brand of hugely danceable noise was great fun. Mixing elements of pure Industrial, hard dance music and powernoise, this UK duo laid down a breathless set of rhythms, samples and infectious, bouncy electronics that rapidly warmed up the jaded Corp crowd. Not an act I'd choose to listen to anywhere but in a live situation, but definitely an act who are building a reputation on their talent rather than any gimmicks.
CEASE2XIST
Shrewsbury's Cease2xist are up next, and the three-piece band are a fantastic proposition live, demonstrating a massive amount of energy and conviction. Their take on harsh Industrial (with an almost inaudible guitar thanks to a typically muffled Corporation small-room mix) is punchy and stompy in all the right places, but it's very, well, 2002. As their set progresses, I have to wonder how many 3ulogy gigs they went to back in the day, as they sound almost exactly like that act (now split, which gave rise to the bands NEKRO DRAKO and PR0T0TYPE) did during their time together. A chaotic cover of 'I wanna be your dog' is fun, but it's their own material that has more punch.ANGELSPIT
It's been four years since I last saw Australian cyberpunks Angelspit play live, and was hoping that the wait would be worth it. Thankfully it was, and despite a lengthy quiet period a couple of tracks in due to a tech issue, the band (now at four members instead of the duo of yore) laid waste to the small room's tiny stage in fine style (despite the ludicrous heat).
Vocalists/Electronics manipulators DESTROYX (aka cult fashion designer Amelia Arsenic) and ZOOG VON ROCK (aka “Caaarl!” as he introduced himself to me in a broad Aussie accent afterwards) are massively energetic throughout the hour-long set, never missing a beat of their rapid-fire lyrics (or indeed the fx-laden vocal sections that require them to switch very quickly to other mics), while guitarist Valerie Gentile (The Brooklynite also known for her work with The Cruxshadows) and drummer Matt have brought a new vigour to the Angelspit live experience.
The transformation is amazing, with older material like 'Maggot' and 'Vena Cava' morphed into vicious and nasty punk assaults, finally bringing Angelspit's punk feel to the forefront. This is never more in evidence than during 'Wreak Havoc', which has gone from being a strong Industrial track to being a monstrously violent Cyberpunk anthem.The band are clearly having a blast, and as the set progresses, they gather a fair few new fans if the response was anything to go by. I was down at the front for the whole show, and ended up dowsed in the bands' sweat from their furiously entertaining performance, during which other delights included 'Glitchbomb', 'Toxic Girl', 'Wolf', the powerful 'Fuck The Revolution' and more. The venue was left sweating and spent, as were the band, but all four members went straight from the last notes of the final track into signing autographs, chatting with fans and posing for pictures. I met each member in turn and was most pleased by how very friendly and accommodating they all are. Not an ego in sight. A perfect end to a great evening's entertainment.
Meeting ANGELSPIT:
Comments