Commafruit

Gig last Sunday at Manchester Academy.

Sonic Boom Six opened promptly with an energetic set. I wasn’t familiar with their music before, but being a local band they received plenty of good feedback from the crowd. Taking elements from punk/ska, but also in places rapping like House of Pain or a far-more-aggressive Massive Attack. Definitely to be checked out.

Next, Streetlight Manifesto provided some high-quality (if slightly generic) ska/punk. I got the impression afterwards that these were expected to deliver more (they’d been hyped up to me no end), but they just struck me as a competent ska outfit.

Finally, Reel Big Fish took the stage. Opening with Sell Out, the crowd were immediately responsive, though the band came off as incredibly tame to begin with, especially compared to SB6. Later, SB6’s lead (female) vocalist Laila Khan returned to sing on She Has A Girlfriend Now, much to everyone’s delight.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see RBF live, and they didn’t disappoint. For the second time in a week, I was also reminded of what a great punk crowd there is in Manchester – the previous week’s Bomb Ibiza was also a great success.

Comments Off

Brilliant gig at the dive-of-Peterborough, The Metropolis Lounge. The Hedrons are an all-girl punk(ish) band from Glasgow, who kicked up a storm last night – best gig I’ve been to in Peterborough by some way. Also the first time I’ve moshed since I moved here – good grief I miss Manchester. I bought a copy of the album (due for release 5th Feb) while I was there, will post a review soon.

Comments Off