| Andy "horse" reviews a typically chaotic gig Oswald iii: Third performance, third different line-up; Lucy had rejoined the band now playing guitar and keyboard, and Matt was at Glastonbury. Oswald lined up against Sell-out, Star face, Ethos, Roswell, Kindred, Image 22, The Laughing Clones, Stale Fish, Orange Tree and Elysium. Oswald stood out from the competition by playing a set comprising of their own tunes ('Exorcism' (later renamed 'Soft Focus'), 'The Pop Song' and 'Twirly Fun') in their own unique style. Vocalist Luke Mitchell started the set in confrontational style with the comment "Oh yes, we want to be Rage Against The Machine" an ironic statement, which set Oswald apart from the conventional cover-playing bands which currently frequent the Cornish music scene. (Memorable retort: "I'd just like to say that Rage Against The Machine are a fucking good band" - Lead-singer of Stale Fish.) Stand in bass-player Will Buckley stood in the corner of the stage and appeared uncomfortable with the band's image , yet still managed to perform well.Dom excelled in the production of noise, with 'Twirly Fun' degenerating into a wall of noise and the rest of the band walking off leaving Dom still 'playing'. Drummer Dave Knight provided steady beats and further enhanced his reputation as a great live performer. Lucy's return enabled Oswald III to increase their already huge sound and expand into new untapped musical resources. 'Exorcism' passed with the same dynamic that has made it such a live favourite, while "The Pop Song" did not show its full quality as Luke had problems with his guitar's tuning throughout. By "Twirly Fun", Dom's creative nature had began to wander (partly as a result of some poor attempted moshing by a section of Oswald fans {Namely: Chris and Alison!}), causing him to produce his own 'improvised noise' ending, which was not fully appreciated by all quarters. Although they did not win, Oswald had finally fully introduced themselves to the Cornish music scene and despite their seemingly confrontational and non-conformist stance had surprisingly won some new friends on the music scene, other than the excepted hardcore of fans from their first gig. The media description of "an angry five piece...", however fails to truly describe the band and the full range of their ideas. |