Everything about this show was memorable from the strange venue which seemed to be an old man pub to the weather which was better than most of the summer to the times(your not meant to be watching hardcore at lunchtime are you?). But with the oddities creating an unforgettable show before I had even seen a band play there can be no complaints about this ambitious line up. Arriving in the packed function room it felt like an underground show was about to take place which is exactly what you want when watching bands who's reputation is nowhere near as big as it should be.
First up to blow the cobwebs of a Saturday night were Bonestorm a Welsh hardcore band who include The Simpsons in their list of inspirations. This band perfectly embodies the King Blues line ‘I don’t mind my hardcore sounding like a execution’ as they tore through an aggressive half hour set. These boys certainly went all out despite it being lunch time and delivered a sound closer to the aggressive hardcore delivered by American jock bands. I wouldn’t slate Bonestorm as the live sound and stage presence of the entire band created a compelling show however I wouldn’t listen to their recorded work as I’m pretty sure it could live up to the live sound.
Harbour were next to temp me from the afternoon sunshine with a more technical breed of hardcore. There were definite elements of the DC scene in what they were doing particularly within the guitar sound and it’s always good to hear a hardcore band that sound like originators (Black Flag, Bad Brains or Minor Threat) rather than being the modern breed of hardcore (Refused, Cancer Bats ect). This band could be transported back to the eighties and the glory days of hardcore and still cut it, which added to my enjoyment. Again the set was tackled at an astounding rate as tracks from their current split were mixed with old and new to balance their style perfectly.
Finally as three drew near Coke Bust took the stage with a blink and you’ll miss it style to the first few tracks that made the other two bands tracks look like slow dances. During the twenty-five minute set they must have torn through twenty songs and still managed to talk in between. The raw aggression delivered in both lyrics and music completely summed up the political unrest this band feel and created a cerebral breed of hardcore, which is a rare treat. As Coke Bust left the stage the audience stood still for a few seconds to take stock on what had just happened before walking back out into the bright sunshine and realising what they had just seen was not just special because of the oddities of the afternoon but they had been blown away by an incredible band.
This is a show I will remember for the rest of my life partially down to the when and where’s but mostly down to the outstanding line up and most of all Coke Bust.
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