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APPLEY BRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTRE
by Richard Taylor
This gig took place in the small but quaint community centre in the
Village of Appley Bridge. There was a lot of nerves as the build up to
this event took place on whether or not it would be a success, but overall
the night went well with an array of bands, young and old, newly formed
and established and all in all something that catered for everyone’s
taste. There was a very young crowd for this gig which was made even more
apparent as two older men walked in got many glares and seemed massively
out of place, but this really was something for the kids, so that wasn't
really a problem.
The first band on were Speed Priest, a young trio who have yet to obtain a
vocalist and by the looks of things they really needed one. Covers by
bands such as Queens of the Stone Age and The Offspring sounded good but
obviously flat without a front man to work the crowd. These young guys
were tight and it was good to see them enjoying themselves, with the
highlight of their short set being two of their friends doing dual vocals
to a song giving the crowd something to cheer about. After this there was
also a cameo by two horn players with a cover of a Less Than Jake song,
but again it wasn't the complete article without the vocals.
Next up were the Grungy punk stylings of Sandwretch who in their second
gig ever were quite impressive, but without a vocalist for most of the set
it still wasn't the full sound that could have been on offer. With a sound
akin to the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana et al these three played a rocking
set and interacted with the crowd well.
The third band of the night was the very young Sentimental Values. These
lads gave a good account for themselves for being 16 year olds. They
played a full set and accomplished it with ease. With covers from the
likes of NOFX and Bigwig they look to have a good thing going. The
potential for a band like this where they are all obviously good friends
is limitless, with the only thing that let them down being the lack of a
distinct sound, going from punk rock to metalcore in the space of a few
songs. If these boys can nail a style down that they can make their own
and carry on practising then they could well be on their way to becoming
an established band. Definitely one to look out for in the future.
There was a rather large gulf between the first three bands and the last
two in terms of professionalism and the ability to draw a crowd. So when
pop-punk 5 piece Smudge started playing it was no surprise that a less
than enthusiastic set of kids suddenly congregated at the front and
started to rock out somewhat more. Smudge were billed as "pop-punk with
experimental emo" but I think that was misjudging the skills of the band.
It certainly was pop punk and had similar vocals to what is classed as
"emo" these days but wasn't particularly groundbreaking. Saying that, they
played a tight set and all were good at what they do, with the drummer
being the outstanding member of the band. It was definitely music for the
kids and they lapped it up with the more drunken youngsters obviously
having a great time.
The night so far had been a success with the crowd in the small community
centre appreciating the efforts of all the bands and when headliners The
Sellout Flaw introduced themselves things kicked up a notch again. Playing
an abrasive and raw mix of punk and thrash they created a frenzied
atmosphere and the first mosh pits of the night were formed. The Sellout
Flaw were loud, and I mean head splitting loud with a distorted bass,
metal guitar and very impressive metalhead playing punk beats drumming
along with a screaming vocalist, the whole of Appley Bridge must have been
disturbed. The P.A. system was in the red and still the vocals weren't as
distinguishable as they should have been. This band had obviously been
playing for a number of years and had a lot of charisma and stage presence
about them. A good set, tarnished by poor sound still left everyone happy
as the night concluded.
Overall a very good night on such a small budget, and I’m sure those who
were there will agree that it gave the newly formed Kinetic Records a good
reputation as it begins to make a name for itself in the promotions and
recording biz. Speeches thanking the event organiser and company manager
Katy, and bands and staff of Kinetic, ended the night on a high and
everyone went away with something that they'll remember.
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