CucosBlog

This Lightning Bolt gig, featuring the amazing An Albatross, well it was a banquet of blistering hardcore rock…

I wanted to write about the Magik Markers set that I saw here a couple of weeks ago, but it just wasn’t worth talking about. I know these bands have heavy tour schedules and inevitably have off nights, so I won’t trash what they are doing. I also wanted to tell you all about the Michael Gordon Band gig at the QEH recently. Although the press quote bigged it up as “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz”, the set he has been touring this year was nothing of the sort. Dull as ditchwater. But you know, you have to check these things out.

And then, very rarely, you experience a night of liberating, ecstatic music. This was such a night.

Jules and I turned up to see the first band Agaskodo Teliverek already onstage: two Hungarian guys with a backing track and matching Iron Maiden t-shirts sounding like a cross between Truman’s Water and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. Not bad at all.

Then came this solo guy playing electronic heavy beats and screaming blue murder vocals. Horacio Pollard is his name. Apparently English, he started off by exhorting the audience to make an effort, which I’ve never heard before. Listen up everyone, this set rocked. It was short and sweet - two numbers as far as I could hear. Maybe 20 minutes long. Respect for that. This was refreshing and exciting, and he was rocking away to his grinding electro hardcore. It was clear and full of cool changes and had me and Jules both “Woah”-ing when he wound down the LFO dial to flutter out the heaviest slo-mo waves of noise.

At this point Jules got a round in with rum chasers and we walked up to the front to see the next band set up. They soundchecked right there before they played - and yet it wasn’t in any way a bore. An Albatross. Can you believe such a shit name? Absolutely dire. Who would have thought they would turn out to be one of the best bands I’ve ever seen.

An Albatross are a thrash metal band with a singer who was born in Axl Rose’s wardrobe. But they’ve also got this Hammond and theremin player alongside the r’n'r 4-piece. So that lent the band a sort of 60s rock leaning which was such a cool surprise. The guitarist was sporting an ultra metal axe - a surfboard flying V with a dicotyledon head (an accurate description, stay with me…). The drummer had big muscles so I thought he would be dextrous on the traps. And he fucking was.

They kicked straight into a hard riffing, molten rock total dynamite set which never let up. They were classic, like Motor City power rock and SubPop back in the 80s, the singer standing up high on the drumkit and just yelping like a banshee. It had all these classic rock elements, but was way faster and noisier than that. Not wishing to cause offence, I am impelled to use the word “motherfucker” to describe them. They were fast and complex and incredibly technical like Naked City (now forever linked with that movie Funny Games) and all those millions of hardcore bands that inspired it. And that viruosity rocks when there is nothing wanky or self-indulgent about it. And then they have that 60s thing - they even covered “Fire” by Arthur Brown. I am the god of hellfire… I think at one point I clenched my fist as I usually only do when Chelsea score. One thing guys: please don’t change your name.

So by the time Lightning Bolt were setting up in the middle of the audience, as they do, I was already full - more satisfied by a gig than I have ever been. Maybe it was because I had no expectations, I wasn’t feeling the shortfall between a recording I love and a live rendition that doesn’t match it.

So anyway, Lightning Bolt set up in the middle of the audience. It was exciting to be part of that, and it’s no mere gimmick. I could see when they played that they were generating energy by playing right there in amongst the audience. The ones at the front around the drum kit were clutching onto the rims of the toms as they headbanged… And for the encore, the drummer moved his kit further into the middle of everyone. I mean, this is unusual. The drums weren’t miked up, so you were really hearing the raw sound of drums being played at full pelt in your face. I think this band have really considered the question of sound at gigs and have taken responsibility for it in their own way. As far as I know the vocals and bass were coming through their own PA, not the house PA.

And they rocked too! Oh yeah… and the crowd around them were moshing like back in the day. And loads of people were up on what was once the stage to get a view. The bass player is very skilled and plays a 5 string bass with maybe 3 bass strings and 2 gtr strings, so he plays lead and bass on one instrument. And the drum onslaught is unrelenting. And the drummer wears that wierd mask thing which also holds his mike. There was a great atmosphere and all the people were moving together with the band. HEAVY RIFFS.

Afterwards we felt inspired and everyone was celebrating. Wow. And I biked back down Abbey Road - the first time I had ever been there - and sang Come Together all the way home.

The profound ringing in my ears that remains with me the day after is like the glow, the aura of rock surrounding me. The sea. The power and freedom of youth. It’s all true - this gig was one of the very best I have experienced.