home

reviews

Dustball / Econoline - Oxford, The Point (downstairs at the Zodiac) Friday 11th January 2002
It’s a Friday night and the Oxford scenery is the usual nightmare of taxis parking and stopping wherever they feel like, kids roaming around, and bouncers trying to keep the kids out of the pubs and picking fights. Before the gig we decide on the delights of ‘Kebab Kid’ with soggy chips and chicken tandori, although, according to one of our party, the chicken is too spicy and is plainly shit – the nan bread is nice and the tandori is… well normal and not in the least spicy!

Econoline kick us off in fine fashion with a brand new song having it’s first public airing. ‘Buddy Bradley’ hits all the right places and the drumming, as ever, is superb. The clicks of the sticks hitting the metal of the drum are almost too in time – it could easily be a machine hidden away producing this sound, but no, it’s chicken tandori lover Valentina up to her usual high standards. This should really be the last song in the set, but what do I know. I think this is the best song in their repertoire at present - and it was only finnished on Wednesday! Most of the audience turn up half way through the set, due to the “Monarch like” early start of 20:15. They missed out. I couldn’t believe that this was the bands' forty-ninth gig – time just whizzes by.

Dustball just plainly took the roof off. They were even tighter than normal it seemed, and, like Econoline, ear-piercingly loud. Again it’s the drummer who catches the eye. You may recognise him as Nigel from The Unbelievable Truth, whose job has gone from hitting those skins at a pace of 10 times a minute to all out rock action with arms flailing everywhere. So while the rest of the band continue with the job in hand, he’s doing tricks with the drumsticks, pretending to fall asleep and trying to put the rest of them off.

They play pop tunes with attitude, have very distinctive vocals, and great guitar sounds. 'Crash' must rank as my current favourite, with its quiet / noisy singing and guitar sound, and the hometown crowd lapped it up. Go and download the MP3's from their website, and catch them live if possible.

skippy

previous * next