Sawthroat
Live at Joseph's Well on Monday, 18th June 2001
MIZKARRAGE OF JUSTICE - for a first gig these guys did well! They opened their set with 'So What' by Metallica and surprisingly did well. I would describe their music as rock, maybe verging on alternative in certain songs. The crowd seemed to like and so did the band, which came across well on stage; there is nothing worse than a band that looks miserable. All members of the band were competent musicians and all played well together. The singer, although looking very young, put on a show; the guitarist played some good leads and looked like he was having fun; the bass player played some good riffs but stood still throughout the whole set and the drummer was a good solid back bone for the band. On the downside the band didn't come across as a professional unit, then again what band does on their first gig? The only other negative thing about the band was that, although good fun to listen to, I would pick different covers. The Metallica songs just didn't have a big enough sound - maybe this was due to the band having one guitarist. Overall, a force to be reckoned with in the future I feel.
SWAMP DONKEY - American punk played very well. These guys were very Offspring-influenced I felt, which was a positive thing. They were loud, fast and had a good tight sound. Once again the crowd got behind the band and they reacted well to this, occasionally kicking each other, which was fun to watch. As individuals they were all good musicians, although throughout the set mistakes were made and instead of playing through them, in one instance they completely stopped and started again; very rock and roll I know, but I can't help feeling that if they had tried to carry on it would have looked more professional. Overall a very good band maybe lacking in originality and stage presence but all said and done well worth a watch if you get chance.
SAW THROAT - well this was apparently their fist gig for a few months and with a new line up. They opened the set with an instrumental of "Tubular Bells" and straight away you could feel the buzz in the room as it filled up. The band had an energy-filled set of songs - their music I would describe as alternative rock; I would try to be more specific but their sound varied from song to song. As a unit they looked and played like a headline band should, the frontman communicated well with the audience, winding them up - he also had a very powerful and dynamic voice; the bass player and drummer were solid and connected well on stage and the lead guitarist, in an Hawaiian shirt, added all the extra fancy bits very beautifully indeed. Three or four tracks into the set a mosh pit started to form at the front and as the set went it got bigger and bigger until half the room was moshing - about 50 people beating the crap out of each other. I saw a guy with a bust nose run to the toilet, clean himself up and join back in - some people don't learn. They ended the set with a cover of "Sweet Dreams", which they made the audience wait and wait and wait for. My only criticisms of the band would be that between songs they need to tighten up - they spent a long tuning which didn't look great and in one song one of the guitars was slightly out of tune which spoilt the track. The only other thing is that out of a set of ten songs they did three covers; two is more than enough especially for a headline band. Overall an excellent band, who if you haven't seen them yet you would be well advised to go check out!
I hope I can speak for 100 people there a great night was had by all each band brilliant in their own way!
