Such Gold, Koji, Starters, Decades – Retro Bar (Manchester), 22/02/11

I can’t really put my finger on it, but tonight was a weird one. Maybe it was the low crowd participation contrasted with the high turnout, heightening my suspicions that while this was the place to be on a freezing Tuesday night, hardly anyone there really knew why… Or maybe I’m just being far too pessimistic – hell, a great turnout on a weeknight at a punk gig with no local bands; that’s a great result no matter what. Plus, it wasn’t even as if I was an expert on any of the acts either.

Kicking things off was Huddersfield five-piece Decades. Not knowing what to expect, it took me a few songs to decide that they placed neatly between Head Automatica and Taking Back Sunday. It was clean and catchy pop rock, full of plenty of hooks and vigour. Unfortunately they weren’t able to keep up the momentum for their full set – towards the end it seemed more and more like they were a one-trick pony. There are only so many staccato guitar parts one band can get away with. However if they can mix it up a bit in the future, I can see them gathering quite a following.

Starters took to the stage next, and managed to up the tempo and cause a bit of a stir, while still maintaining a strong pop edge. Imagine Brand New’s Your Favourite Weapon mixed with dashes of Man Overboard and The Wonder Years, and you’re kinda close to Starters. Impressively catchy but with an overall ‘punk’ ethos, these guys seem to bridge the gap between two scenes which will ultimately work in their favour.

My cynicism rears its ugly head again for tonight’s solo effort, Koji. Now, I must stress before I make my point that Koji seems like a really nice person. I mean, he probably is a really nice person. I just found his between-song dialogue a bit contrived, and a bit staged. I guess if it’s not an act then I’m going to look like an idiot, but just like some celebrities play up to their accents, I did feel he was exaggerating his…niceness. To the songs though; it was accessible and stripped down acoustic pop, with a fairly decent voice to boot. Reminiscent of Mike Park in places, a pleasant and impressive set.

I caught the end of Such Gold’s set a Fest last year, but didn’t really think much of them. Taking the bad sound at The Venue’s side-stage into account, I wanted to give them another chance, and this time they were a lot better. It still wasn’t anything ground-breaking; there are more accomplished melodic punk/hardcore bands, but Such Gold still have some good tunes in their arsenal. Sitting quite comfortably between Canyoneer-era No Trigger and Four Year Strong, this tour could easily win them a host of new fans.

Going back to a previous point, I did find it confusing that, while the crowd did get a bit lively for Such Gold, I couldn’t really work out who 90% of the crowd were here to see (there was certainly limited crowd reaction to the other acts). It’s obviously not a bad thing that the punters were out to see some new music; I just couldn’t help thinking that a lot of them felt like they had to be there. However, despite my pessimism, this was an enjoyable and surprisingly varied night.

My top 10 bands I’ll never get to see live

Wow, I've been slack recently. Well, for anyone that cares, consider this a turning point. Hopefully. So, to reintroduce myself to blog-world, here is a list of 10 bands I wish I'd witnessed in the flesh...

Disclaimer: I didn’t want this list full of too many ‘obvious’ choices; there will always be other bands I could have put in. Opinions and all that.

Also, it is in no order.

There are so many times when I wish I was ‘around’ for certain music-based events (when Green Day toured Dookie is the one that normally springs to mind), but unfortunately I only came into this world twenty-two years ago, and only started truly appreciating the broad spectrum of punk music about eleven years ago. With my favourite groups drawing from their earlier counterparts, I was always going to get into bands from before my time, which is why a number of the bands in the list appear.

The other bands feature for two other reasons really; either they just never toured the UK in my gigging lifetime, or I was just very unlucky…

Refused – Certainly one of my ‘wish I was around’ moments, I can only imagine how electrifying and exhilarating a Refused gig would be. ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ must be one of the most celebrated albums in the punk world, and seeing the songs live would have been very special indeed.

Osker – I never used to appreciate Osker. Then after I was lambasted by a friend for calling them a poor man’s Lawrence Arms, I gave them another go and instantly fell in love. Treatment 5 is an excellent snotty pop punk album, while Idle Will Kill is just pure brilliance.

Daggermouth – Out of the whole hardcore/pop punk crossover genre I think these guys nailed it perfectly, with an impeccable blend between the two. It’s hard-hitting yet very melodic, with the darkest lyrics you’ll hear from a band of this ilk.

Operation Ivy – Punk kids living in California in the late 80s must have really felt like part of something unique. Disputably the first ever genuine ‘ska-punk’ band (depends on whether you’d assign their predecessors with the ‘punk’ part of the label), their gigs were probably sweaty, manic and intimate affairs. Seeing Classics Of Love playing a few Op Ivy songs a couple of years ago was amazing, and the closest I’ll get.

Nirvana – I’m not sure what era Nirvana I’d like to have seen; headlining Reading in 1992, or playing some dingy basement in Seattle in the late 80s. What I am sure of is that either experience would have felt very special. Cobain’s mesmerising stage presence coupled with some of the greatest riffs in rock history – Nirvana rightly carry the ‘legend’ status.

Minor Threat – It’s hard when writing about pivotal moments in the history of the alternative scene not to repeat certain words like ‘exciting’ and ‘special’; and these two adjectives are certainly appropriate when talking about this band. Minor Threat was the start of something different and revolutionary, and I can’t imagine what it would have been like to witness them performing.

Five Knuckle – One of my biggest music-based regrets is not going to the Household Name Records Christmas bash in London when I was 15. Little did I know at the time, but it was realistically the last chance I could get to see Five Knuckle. I listened to ‘Balance’ for the first time in ages the other day; it still sounded so fresh, relevant and mesmerising. Certainly one of the most revolutionary UK bands of the past 10 years, shame they never really got the recognition they deserved.

Get Bent – In the last few years I must have listened to their five-track demo close to 75 times. The best way to describe Get Bent is just honest, catchy punk rock. I would have certainly caused long-term damage to my vocal cords if I’d seen them live, so it’s probably for the best I didn’t.

Kid Dynamite – I don’t dance or crowd surf much at gigs these days. I don’t know if it’s just an age thing or if I’m becoming more self-conscious; but if I somehow manage to catch Kid Dynamite live before I die, I will genuinely ‘lose my shit’. Injuries will include dislocated shoulders from too much air pumping and aching cheek bones from a constant grin.

Hostage Life – I was so excited to see Hostage Life at Fest 8, but they pulled out and split up days before. One of the most underrated bands of the past few years, I believe they really had something going for them, in a Clashforthe21stcentury kind of way.

Mentions should be given to the following: Fugazi, The Movielife, Fastlane, Descendents and Lifetime – as I’m still holding out hope to see them all. Finally, Latterman and Knapsack would have made the list if I’d forgotten about one or two of the others.