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The Monsoon Bassoon were the first to play. Kavus was looking as excited as a child who had just been given the keys to the chocolate factory. They stomped off with 'The Very Best Of Badluck '97' and took the crowd on a non-stop insight into the Bassoon 's world ending with 'Wise Guy'. Quote of the night must come from Kavus himself "Mathstock 2000 - the triangle is complete". Never a truer statement, as this was just the start of some truly awe-inspiring music. Geiger Counter bravely opened with a brand new ten-minute song that had never been played before. 'August' had the audience astounded at the skill and speed of the members playing ability. I know of at least one of the crowd who had heard plenty about this band but never caught them live - his jaw was firmly on the ground during and after the set. Both songs from the last single, 'Caspian Sea Monster' and the not often played 'Spasatel' were played along with yet another new song '(They Have Their Uses) Gooses'. Heaviest band in Britain? Probably. How the fuck would Sweep The Leg Johnny follow that? (See separate review below). Well the last thing Steve said to me before they went on was "Fuck how do we follow those two bands? We have to play our asses off". And boy did they do that! Steve admitting after that it was probably their best show of the 400 odd they have played so far. I think the magic of the night was that each band plays their music in a different style, but each one of them is right at the apex of what they do. They all complemented each other and this proved to be a gig that lived up to all expectations and the hype. Can't wait for the reunion! skippy rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...trying to think of a word that describes the Sweep dynamic in a way that separates it/them from lazy journalese, it's not easy. But that's because Sweep clearly aren't 'avant-punk' or 'post-hardcore', the reason being that, as we all know, those terms mean nothing. They don't sound like Fugazi or June of '44 or whoever, there's a curious, mythical thing happening in the midst of the maelstrom, a hard-to-define element that pushes and pulls at the audience. But it's a strange, wondrous communication you experience that ultimately sets them apart from so many of the other US bands. Of course, they rock like a fucking pack of wild boar on motorbikes, which goes without saying. Maybe even more muscular and taut than on record, Scott (drums) and John (bass) play in each others pockets like twin brothers, leaving Steve (sax/voice) and especially Chris (guitar) to jump in and out of the grooves and get more impressionistic when they feel the need. It works incredibly well, we get deadly sax/guitar arguments, Zorn style cues, we get Steve crouched on the stage in a massive pool of his own sweat, wailing into the reed of his sax whilst banging his head on the floor. I guess the only way I can think of to describe the situation would be, Sweep travelled, they picked us up, placed us on a burning boxcar in the middle of nowhere, let us hear fragments of half-remembered stories, gave us vague advice, threatened us with fuzzy photographs of unfamiliar territories, got us lost, got us found and then dropped us off back where we began, dizzy and bleeding, but happy, and moved... Santa Dog Geiger Counter setlist: August / Good Crutches / Spasatel / (They Have Their Uses) Gooses / Caspian Sea Monster |