| GIG-REVIEWS |
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| MAY... conTRast@the cartoon - we smashed it up.**** Wicked up for it crowd turned up to hear some proper tunes by Missaligned, Incoherent and of course conTRast. This being a subversion night the (run by PI records) the dj played a good selection also. Incoherent were well liked, much applause and general positive chatter, Missaligned (our fellow 3-piece people) were quite drunk Hamden's (singer/guitarist) skirt was ummm nice, their set was cool anyway. conTRast took the stage with Nutshell, reeled off a heavy 'drone' , lesson learnt, New song/Grim,(rough!!) maybe, she said,(god macine crew out in full force! ) need to heal(!), and then a little something we made up in a jam the other day, Fin on the mic, singing about 'womens issues' aswell as some of her own(!) we call it the 'angry little girl song'. WE played 'Forget-me-not' last, as a thank-you to our groupie dan, who has been to every gig so far. Turned out we had a little time left, so we played a very scatty version of 'walk like an egyptian' by famous 80s band 'the bangles', I cant remember any of the words so it was kinda like 'nanananananananan ohh-way-oh'. Anyway, you loved it and so did we. Cheers to PI for the night, & of course to u lot. xxx :) Apr.. 68 special @ notting hill arts centre Brushing aside the total trendy flex in this venue (it is a 'poptones' night afterall, notting hill arts centre being way too 'happening' anyway)) me and Fin go to investigate the band that sounded so good at the babes gig. They play a solid and powerful set. Their music is their own sound. Sally strange (guitar/backing vocals) stamps her foot as she strums and sings, (fantastic co-ordination!!) there's no doubt she's into this, hard. She is born to play. Mike (drums) smashes his way through the set, proving to Fin, that one tom really can sound good! Carli (bassist) is the only person I have trouble hearing, but when I watch her, for some reason I can hear her better. And finally Mel (guitar/vocals -and who I spoke to after) who (to me)sings like she isn't anywhere else, that her heart is in this, and she plays cos there's no other way to go through life. Inspired and happy with the level, I holler my support. Their music is wicked, and hopefully it won't be long til we can get hold of their dubplates. Mar.. conTRast@ Nescot college we were great...and the god machine cover was a blinder! -Dee (review by Fin) After astounding sets by the wild stallions, and Slinky maids (not mades!), it's our turn. Forget-me-not went well, but apparantly Dee was freakin near the end (I didn't notice! forget-to-take-your-pills?!) Lesson learnt-was seamless-we rock! Maybe- ha! I remembered to play the bass solo this time! ) Then a heavy version of drone, new song/grim. To finish, we do a storming cover of 'she said' by the god machine. WE ROCK. yet again. ! CIZ SAYS...worst bit:wankers playing on my kit-never again best bit: she said see you next time peeps.. Feb.. conTRast @ Nescot college Tonight we showed off the proper level which is conTRast. All of us played to perfection, and although the whole night was pretty unorganised, we pulled off a spectacular gig. We were the only three piece, and Fin and I were the only female guitarists. (which made us even more proper). Highlights of the gig - as always Nutshell, every Alice in Chains fan comes out to hear that one, all of our set went really well, Need to Feel, Grim and our new song (untitled) sounding particularly strong. (Cizs drums on the new tune are solid!) We'll be working on that for our next gig, so look forward to it. The greatest thing of course when you play well (and sometimes even when you don't) is inspiring people, and knowing people enjoyed it. But the thing about being proper is, sometimes people don't always get it first time round (like Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock) or they've just never seen anything like it. Many people sit/stand and just stare, mouth half-open taking it in. That's what I did when I've seen many great bands (like a perfect circle,babes in toyland) you're almost in a dream state. I think that's fine, if it's because the music is good/inspiring. Ciz told me after the show that someone asked her why we didn't leave all the heavier songs till last so people could mosh to them. We don't think we have that many 'moshing' songs anyway, and why do that anyway? We're called conTRast. ! Our songs don't and shouldn't all blend together, mixtures of soft and loud serious & light-hearted are pleasant to the ears (and my voice) and are ...conTRasting! Which is us when we're doing our stuff. At the end of the day, it's not about what the public what to hear, especially the 'I'll-mosh-to-anything-as-long-as-it's-heavy' public. The music we make is for music listeners and lovers, not for people looking for the 'in' thingl, or just there to jump around, we honestly couldn't give a toss if you jump around at our gigs or not, as long as you're listening, as long as you're into it, as long as you're for real. If you're not, you shouldn't even be reading such proper genuine statements. Big thank-you to all who turned up, glad you enjoyed it, small taster of things to come. Although we didn't win (and the prize money would've been handy!) what was important was how we played, and judging from the response, I'd say we rocked. Nuff said. Keep it real! February Babes In Toyland @ the LA2 Tonight we witnessed how real women do it. The babes crew turned up in full force, hardened, beer-drinking, babydoll-twenty-somethings came out the closet for this one off re-union. We actually MET LORI right after we came in the door, and she was definately cool! Hanging casually round the cloakroom with a beanie on, drinking a large herbal tea. We spoke briefly about their mini-tour and I brought up their performance of 'Dustcake Boy' on Sonic Youths' - '1991 The year punk broke' tour video (which I adore) and she told me how she recently watched it with her friend who directed/produced? it and it made her bawl her eyes out cos of '..Kurt and everything.' I'm guessing that tour was hardcore! I have to say she is so proper, a hell of a woman, Happy Birthday once again! I totally admired and respected the babes beore, and now it's reinforced. She took time out to talk to a nutter like myself and was nice about it, and that makes her proper, and real, in my book! (keep it real man!) RESPECT! Beautifully supported by talented musicians '68 Special' (who rocked and I met the singer/rhythm guitarist after and told her so and she was totally polite and cool to me) and the not so wonderful, 'Little Hell'. The babes played every tune we wanted to here (bar 'Mother', Fin was screwing!) Babes showed us real women in action, Lori drumming wicked rhythms and wailing at the same time, and Kat displyed her 10 different voices/growls/screams, and the newly introduced Jesse Farmer on bass who was rockin whenever I looked her way. Respect once again to the babes and 68 special for a top night , which still doesn't seem real, but the memory will stain!!!!!!! BABES SET LIST: Bruise Violet - Blubell - Vomit Heart - Dustcake Boy - Memory - Drive-in - Aerial - Swamp Pussy - Won't Tell - Sweet '69 - Angel Hair - Oh Yeah - Middle Man - Handsome and Gretel(yeah!!) - Spun - Ripe - He's My Thing |