Monthly Archives: November 2012

Reel Big Fish: long run of live shows confirmed for early 2013

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Ska-punk stalwarts Reel Big Fish have confirmed a string of live shows for the first quarter of the new year. The confirmed dates take place in the US, UK and Europe.

Support at all UK/Euro shows comes from Suburban Legends.

January 5, 2013 House of Blues Downtown Disney Anaheim, CA
January 6, 2013 the Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA
January 9, 2013 Belly Up Tavern Aspen, CO
January 10, 2013 Gothic Theatre Englewood, CO
January 11, 2013 Fox Theatre Boulder, CO
January 13, 2013 Bourbon Theatre Lincoln, NE
January 14, 2013 Granada Theatre Lawrence, KS
January 16, 2013 Blue Moose Tap House Iowa City, IA
January 17, 2013 the Rave Milwaukee, WI
January 18, 2013 the Castle Theatre Bloomington, IL
January 19, 2013 Mill City Nights Minneapolis, MN
January 20, 2013 Majestic Theatre Madison, WI
February 20, 2013 Brighton,UK Concord 2
February 21, 2013 Cardiff,UK Solus
February 22, 2013 Exeter,UK Lemon Grove
February 23, 2013 Frome,UK Cheese and Grain
February 24, 2013 Reading,UK Sub 89
February 25, 2013 Sheffield,UK Corporation
February 26, 2013 Leeds,UK the Met
February 27, 2013 Manchester,UK HMV Ritz
February 28, 2013 Middlesbrough,UK Empire
March 1, 2013 Glasgow,UK Garage
March 2, 2013 Birmingham,UK Academy 2
March 3, 2013 Nottingham,UK Rock City
March 4, 2013 Norwich,UK Waterfront
March 5, 2013 Colchester,UK Arts Center
March 6, 2013 Tunbridge Wells, UK Forum
March 7, 2013 Southampton,UK University
March 8, 2013 London,UK the Forum
March 9, 2013 Paris,France Le Forum
March 10, 2013 Tolouse,France Saint Des Sains
March 12, 2013 Madrid,Spain Sala Carcol
March 13, 2013 Barcelona,Spain Sala Apolo 2
March 14, 2013 Lyon,France Marquise
March 15, 2013 Bulle,Switzerland Ebullltion
March 16, 2013 Zug,Switzerland Galvanik
March 17, 2013 Milan,Italy Factory Area 1
March 18, 2013 Vienna,Austria Arena
March 19, 2013 Salzburg,Austria Rock House
March 20, 2013 Graz,Austria PPC
March 21, 2013 Warsaw,Poland Proxima
March 22, 2013 Riga,Latvia Palladium
March 23, 2013 Moscow,Russia Milk Club
March 24, 2013 St. Petersburg,Russia Aurora Club
March 25, 2013 Helsinki,Finland Tavastia
March 30, 2013 Copenhagen,Denmark Vega
March 31, 2013 Hamburg,Germany Knust
April 1, 2013 Berlin,Germany Lido
April 2, 2013 Cologne,Germany Luxor
April 3, 2013 Stuttgart,Germany Wagenhallen
April 4, 2013 Frankfurt,Germany Batschkapp
April 5, 2013 Munchen,Germany 59 to 1
April 6, 2013 Munster,Germany Skaters Palace Cafe
April 7, 2013 Utrecht,Holland Tivoli
April 8, 2013 De Kreun,Belgium Kortrljk

THUNDERFUCKS – EP

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Mixing garage punk, a little garage blues and a whole world of attitude, this debut EP by New Yorkers (the) Thunderfucks has little time for subtlety.  Despite never taking the speed-punk route of bands like Zeke (whose debut clocked up twenty songs in just about twenty four minutes) it’s still pretty damn fast in places.  That speediness combined with a hefty love of trashy 50s influenced rock ‘n’ roll – bringing forth a little Ramones and a whole world of early Misfits in their sound – means these guys don’t mess around.

Without any time to warm up, ‘Crazy Wild Style’ crashes into a rock ‘n’ roll thrasher that sounds like Rocket From The Crypt spun at 45 rpm, with plenty of shouty gang vocals backing up a lead voice that attacks the listener with a near guttural delivery.  Another lightning fast romp, ‘Sick Girl’ – clocking in at just a minute and a half – allows drummer KC to let loose on his hi-hat, while the rest of the band sweat it out through a brilliant, screaming rock ‘n’ roll number with a killer old-school lead break from Leopardman Tom, underneath which  Handsome Dan delivers a lovely hurried bassline.  With the combination of semi-aggessive vocal, brief playing time and great soloing, this number presents Thunderfucks at their most urgent, even if not their most wholly accessible.

The other tunes are a little tighter all round.  ‘Another Day’ begins with a riff that would make Johnny Ramone proud, but by the time Charlie Kong launches into a strong lead vocal topped with a croon, this band’s Misfits about as subtle as a brick – but since this tune is potentially better than anything that band has committed to record since Glenn Danzig’s departure, who cares?  On the basis of this and ‘Entertain Me’ (which follows in a very similar mood), Thunderfucks take the punk ‘n’ roll ethic, kick it in squarely up the arse and get superb results, even in spite of a couple of wobbly lead guitar breaks.   On ‘Entertain Me’ in particular, Kong sounds very confident with his adopted croon.

Since these four tunes have two distinctly different attitudes, that means there’s just enough variation within the band’s chosen styles for them not to feel repetitive.  This too, of course, is helped by the shorter EP format.  All together, it adds up to a debut EP that’s a sweaty but joyous affair that no fans of punk/punk ‘n’ roll should miss.

October 2012

NAPALM DEATH: Hellfest 2012

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When Napalm Death appeared on the scene in the late 80s, they were one of the most extreme bands ever. Their grindcore assault, delivering uber-short metal numbers with a hardcore punk aggression, made their debut album ‘Scum’ almost impenetrable. It wasn’t just the sheer intensity that made it somehow fascinating, but also the fact that each side of the LP was recorded with almost an entirely different line-up, with only drummer Mick Harris remaining. This was clearly a band who mightn’t go the distance…

Napalm Death weren’t just a flash in the pan. A second album, recorded with vocalist Lee Dorrian – who appeared on part of the debut – assaulted the listener with a similar intensity over the course of twenty two numbers. After this, he would soon depart to form the doom metal band Cathedral and guitarist Bill Steer would form Carcass, both of who also achieved cult success. [While neither of Napalm’s first two albums were a commercial success, they’ve been critically acclaimed by the press, with ‘Scum’ heralded as a groundbreaking work].

From the band’s third album onwards, regrouping with vocalist Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway on board, Napalm began a long and far more settled journey, one which would see them temper their sound a little, mixing their grindcore roots with copious death and thrash metal influences. As the gig below demonstrates – recorded 25 years, fifteen albums and several line-up shifts into the band’s surprisingly long career – any tempering is relative, since Napalm still carry a hefty punch.

While Napalm Death have never been a band that Real Gone has really understood, that their extreme sounds could gain a much bigger audience than the likes of ‘Scum’ would have ever suggested years ago is something to be admired. [Early performance and interview footage can also be found in the video clips here].

 

New Halestorm interview posted online

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A new interview with Lzzy and Arejay Hale of hard rock band Halestorm has been posted on YouTube. The fifteen minute chat was conducted on October 17th in Sweden and can now be viewed below.

In other Halestorm news, a new digital only live EP recorded as part of ‘The Live Room’ on October 31st is available now!