Zounds + Fubar + VX - live @
Warzone Centre, Belfast, 11/01/13
One of my all time heroes ( no pun intended) 'David Bowie' released a surprise new single after a ten year absence on the 8.1.13, which also happened to be the day of his 66th birthday. The beautifully nostalgic and painfully reflective ''Where are we now?', has proved to be an apt title, when you look at the backwards spiral of Belfast at this moment in time.
Another friday night and once again its like groundhog day dealing with the almost daily routine of tea time protests and riots now with added bomb scares causing traffic chaos.
Sadly due to this deteriorating situation 'The Dubtones' were unable to play the gig tonight, and not surprisingly there was a less than expected audience turnout. But who can blame anyone for not wanting to venture out into the unknown, but as that old entertainment mantra goes "the show must go on". So regardless of what was going down outside, Zounds, Fubar and VX put on a great show in 'The Warzone' tonight.
Sometimes its worth putting up with the hassle, as the 'Warzone Centre' is easily the most punter friendly small venue in Belfast, and a great place to play which deserves everyones support.
VX took to the stage around 10.00pm, and as I've said before it doesn't matter to these kids if there's one man and a dog or a thousand faces in the crowd, this bunch of tearaways give it maximum FU teenage swagger and attitude with hooks and tunes to match each and every time, and tonight was going to be no exception. They've done 15 performances in Belfast, Lisburn and Bangor during the last four and a half months, they look good together and they write their own material. So If you haven't checked them out yet, then what the hell is keeping you?. Its 2013, time to stop 'walking the dead' and catch up with the rest of the already enlightened. 'VX' are without a doubt the best young band in Belfast, and believe me I'm not the only one who thinks it.
I like 'Fubar' - their selection of classic songs are always going to go down a treat with any juiced up crowd of punk rock fans, no matter how depleted the audience is. Unusually they were getting a bit of banter from a couple of punters tonight, who were loudly voicing their disapproval at the bands lack of self penned tunes. "A bit of bile or a bit of fun", I don't know!, but frontman 'Davy Greer' seemed to be getting increasingly pissed off. He informed one dreadlocked heckler through gritted teeth a number of times, that 'Fubar' are in fact a covers band.
'Zounds' were more or less a mystery to me before tonight , I knew some of their songs like 'Can't Cheat Karma, but I was never a big fan of the anarcho scene . I loved the art and the imagery, but the music left me cold. They had their followers dancing and singing along from the get-go, 'Zounds' were much lighter ( in a Velvet Undergound kind of fashion) and a lot less abrasive than the likes of 'Crass' or 'Conflict', even though their songs were dealing lyrically with some very serious and disturbing subject matter. 'Hank Williams' fan and frontman 'Steve Lake's' witty banter , his crisps eating and fisherman's friend ! antics put a smile on everyones face. Plus his 'Bugs Bunny SG' proved the guy has a sense of humour, something that was almost non existant in that particular scene back in the day. I enjoyed their set a lot more than I was expecting to.
This gig could easily have turned out to be a total non event, so well done to all the bands, promoters and punters who persisted and together made it happen, and against the odds it turned out to be a really good night for everyone involved.
Courtesy of the 'Joe Donnelly' facebook page.
12.JAN 2013.
Another friday night and once again its like groundhog day dealing with the almost daily routine of tea time protests and riots now with added bomb scares causing traffic chaos.
Sadly due to this deteriorating situation 'The Dubtones' were unable to play the gig tonight, and not surprisingly there was a less than expected audience turnout. But who can blame anyone for not wanting to venture out into the unknown, but as that old entertainment mantra goes "the show must go on". So regardless of what was going down outside, Zounds, Fubar and VX put on a great show in 'The Warzone' tonight.
Sometimes its worth putting up with the hassle, as the 'Warzone Centre' is easily the most punter friendly small venue in Belfast, and a great place to play which deserves everyones support.
VX took to the stage around 10.00pm, and as I've said before it doesn't matter to these kids if there's one man and a dog or a thousand faces in the crowd, this bunch of tearaways give it maximum FU teenage swagger and attitude with hooks and tunes to match each and every time, and tonight was going to be no exception. They've done 15 performances in Belfast, Lisburn and Bangor during the last four and a half months, they look good together and they write their own material. So If you haven't checked them out yet, then what the hell is keeping you?. Its 2013, time to stop 'walking the dead' and catch up with the rest of the already enlightened. 'VX' are without a doubt the best young band in Belfast, and believe me I'm not the only one who thinks it.
I like 'Fubar' - their selection of classic songs are always going to go down a treat with any juiced up crowd of punk rock fans, no matter how depleted the audience is. Unusually they were getting a bit of banter from a couple of punters tonight, who were loudly voicing their disapproval at the bands lack of self penned tunes. "A bit of bile or a bit of fun", I don't know!, but frontman 'Davy Greer' seemed to be getting increasingly pissed off. He informed one dreadlocked heckler through gritted teeth a number of times, that 'Fubar' are in fact a covers band.
'Zounds' were more or less a mystery to me before tonight , I knew some of their songs like 'Can't Cheat Karma, but I was never a big fan of the anarcho scene . I loved the art and the imagery, but the music left me cold. They had their followers dancing and singing along from the get-go, 'Zounds' were much lighter ( in a Velvet Undergound kind of fashion) and a lot less abrasive than the likes of 'Crass' or 'Conflict', even though their songs were dealing lyrically with some very serious and disturbing subject matter. 'Hank Williams' fan and frontman 'Steve Lake's' witty banter , his crisps eating and fisherman's friend ! antics put a smile on everyones face. Plus his 'Bugs Bunny SG' proved the guy has a sense of humour, something that was almost non existant in that particular scene back in the day. I enjoyed their set a lot more than I was expecting to.
This gig could easily have turned out to be a total non event, so well done to all the bands, promoters and punters who persisted and together made it happen, and against the odds it turned out to be a really good night for everyone involved.
Courtesy of the 'Joe Donnelly' facebook page.
12.JAN 2013.