What: PowPowPow All Dayer – 4th August 2007
Venue: Brixton Windmill
Bands: Agaskodo Teliverek/Horse Vomit/Action Beat /I Had An Inkling/Down I Go/Cleckhuddersfax/Man Aubergine/The Dead Rat Orchestra/Serfs/Romvelope/Gossamer Albatross
Damage: �5
Drinks: they had Newcastle Brown Ale, need I say more? 😉
–
Considering I am part of the wonderful PowPowPow team in my spare time, (DJ Shucks to you) my attendance at the Brixton Windmill for their all dayer was mandatory; plus they needed someone to spin some tunes in between bands! With an eclectic set organised by Edward Douglas, the day proved to feature a plethora of talent from Stoke Newington, Bletchley, Leeds and even Hungary! So, with 11 bands packed into a room the size of a student’s flat, the day went something like this:
Things kicked off with a solo acoustic performance by Hereford’s Gossamer Albatross (real name Lewis Gordon). Armed with only an acoustic guitar and several pages of A4, the small crowd were treated to some rich sounding and quite wonderful, folk-pop. For a young man playing on his own, he showed very little fear, launching into each song with such gusto and perseverance; it was amazing to think that this was only his 3rd ever live show. With songs ranging from Robert De Niro & Dennis Hopper films (“Raging Bulls’), broken relationships (“I’ll Laugh Over and Over’) Lewis combines a fair amount of cinematic narrative with tortured bitterness. Cracking stuff; check him out on tour through his hometown, and in October with Cutting Pink With Knives.
–
To counteract this tuneful offering; London’s Romvelope decided to wow us with their bizarre electronic-noise. Thoughts? Well let’s just say, if Hitler hadn’t have had his gas chamber, he’d probably have used Romvelope. With a sound like “a speaker being raped’ (as described by a disgruntled punter at the end) the two-piece pretty much destroyed what faith I had in the future of electronic music. In places, a meagre tune emerged; but it was often overshadowed in a wail of blisteringly loud feedback and squealing notes. Absolutely barking mad.
Colchester’s The Dead Rat Orchestra played a rather uninspired mix of ethereal funeral music and despite their impressive collection of instruments (as well as a nice looking record player) they left me cold. Despite Serf’s “Psych’ tag, they were incredibly confusing. A bewildering mix of guitar fuzz and an out of tune Clarinet is not music lads, disappointing.
–
The arrival of Man Aubergine kicks off a triple-bill full-on rock “n’ roll assault with their noisy-blues attack. With all three members of the band sharing vocal duties, and a drummer the size of a small house, these London boys created a right raucous racket; excellent work.
–
Next up were Cleckhuddersfax, who were as barmy as their name sounds. Their vocalist was dressed in an orange leotard, with what looked like tights and possibly a posing pouch and a slightly deranged look in his eyes. Their style is one I’m still valiantly trying to work out. It was a bizarre mix of electronic noise, with danceable beats and a slight “circus music meets prog-rock’ bounce. Yeah, crap description I know, but I’ve never seen/heard anything quite like this before. One of the most enthusiastic and entertaining bands of the day, plus: great leotard.
–
Down I Go were next with their Disaster-Dino-Robot-Tyrant-core noise to clatter and pound our ears. Humble as ever, vocalist Pete introduces each song, before roaring into the microphone like a wounded Tyrannosaurus Rex, throwing amusing shapes around the small “stage.’ With a set-list, that combines songs about dinosaurs, the Great Plague (“A Wasp In A Jar‘ see video,) and The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (“Billion Dollar Burning Coffin‘) watching Down I Go live, is a rewarding experience, because it acts as a history lesson and as a rewarding gig experience! They play 1 song off their forthcoming “This is Robotcore‘ Ep, entitled “T-1000‘ which is one of the heaviest and most-feedback drenched of their songs. The penultimate and epic sounding “Stay at Home and Die‘ (about the 1918 Spanish flu, La Grippe) with the mournful lament of “don’t go…. outside….‘ is the last disaster-themed track played; before the band let rip into ‘Turkmenbashi‘, father of the Turkmen (to be featured on the ‘This is Tyrantcore‘ album) which ends in a chilling chant that fills the windmill with tyrant-style force. Down I Go are simply one of the best underground UK bands ever; plus, any band that sings about the extinction of the dinosaurs has to be supported, right?
–
The last band that my ears feel the wrath of this evening is Stoke Newington’s Horse Vomit. Words cannot describe the impact this band had on the Windmill, and me so I shall leave it to these pictures (see below) and videos (below that) to tell the story. All I will say is: naked men, masks, g-clamp guitar and speaker humping.
–
–
Videos:[MEDIA=54]
[MEDIA=55]
–
Words – Ross Macdonald
Photos – Ross Macdonald
Lizard Hips
Junior Vice President of Keep It Fast. In other news: I work in social media, talk about dinosaurs, run a book club and have amazing facial hair. I am also a male man who is still not dead.
Follow Me: