Sforzando, Mutiny @ the Tote (10/5/03)
May. 12th, 2003 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharplittleteethThe Tote is a real pub. The paint work is chipped. The band posters are yellowed. The carpet is hidden in gloom. It looks like it's about to collapse.
In other words,it has charm.
We (being myself, andricongirl, Darren and Elaine) went there on Saturday for a night of folk-punk: Nein, James Brook, Sforzando and Mutiny.
The concert was a benefit gig for Mutiny. Someone car-jacked their drummer on Sydney Road.
Nein were apparently a once-off side project for some of the Mutiny members. They played death metal. Loudly. But with a sense of humour. Which is the only way to do it, when you’re growling like a Muppet with laryngitis. The singer twitched and stared and reminded me of Ian Curtis.
James Brook was like Billy Bragg, but without the warmth. One guy, one guitar, lots of politics. He was okay. He just took everything a bit too seriously.
Sforzando didn't take themselves seriously at all. They describe themselves as pirate punks. They sound like the Pogues, if the Pogues sang about pirate ships and rum instead of Dublin and whiskey. People danced and grinned and had a ball. They were great.
And I learnt something during their set: skanking and line dancing are very similar. Similar enough for people to combine the two.
Mutiny also sound like the Pogues, but if the Pogues sang about Collingwood and CUB beer. The crowd was bigger for Mutiny than for Sforzando , but the band wasn’t as tight. They had problems with their sound equipment, so it may not have been the best gig to judge them by.
The crowd loved them, though. Skanking and line-dancing gave way to an old-fashioned joyful mosh-pit.
People left with huge, happy grins on their faces. Which nicely sums up the night.
(And forgive me for adding this, but - goddamn punk girls are *cute*.)
In other words,it has charm.
We (being myself, andricongirl, Darren and Elaine) went there on Saturday for a night of folk-punk: Nein, James Brook, Sforzando and Mutiny.
The concert was a benefit gig for Mutiny. Someone car-jacked their drummer on Sydney Road.
Nein were apparently a once-off side project for some of the Mutiny members. They played death metal. Loudly. But with a sense of humour. Which is the only way to do it, when you’re growling like a Muppet with laryngitis. The singer twitched and stared and reminded me of Ian Curtis.
James Brook was like Billy Bragg, but without the warmth. One guy, one guitar, lots of politics. He was okay. He just took everything a bit too seriously.
Sforzando didn't take themselves seriously at all. They describe themselves as pirate punks. They sound like the Pogues, if the Pogues sang about pirate ships and rum instead of Dublin and whiskey. People danced and grinned and had a ball. They were great.
And I learnt something during their set: skanking and line dancing are very similar. Similar enough for people to combine the two.
Mutiny also sound like the Pogues, but if the Pogues sang about Collingwood and CUB beer. The crowd was bigger for Mutiny than for Sforzando , but the band wasn’t as tight. They had problems with their sound equipment, so it may not have been the best gig to judge them by.
The crowd loved them, though. Skanking and line-dancing gave way to an old-fashioned joyful mosh-pit.
People left with huge, happy grins on their faces. Which nicely sums up the night.
(And forgive me for adding this, but - goddamn punk girls are *cute*.)
