Porcelin
Live at Woodkirk Valley Country Club on Friday, 8th March 2002
I was really surprised when I turned up early to see the place packed! I've been to the Valley a few times before and have not seen it like this for ages... The first band up was STROODLE, I think these guys were not that bad; playing a mix of punk and grunge they seemed to get the crowd kick into gear off their chairs and up on the floor. The bassist had his bass pumped up a little high but made up for it with some decent finger work. Some of their stuff was not that bad, I personally wouldn't be going out of my way to see this band play again, but if they're supporting a decent band then I wouldn't be that bothered about listening to them!
Next up: MISLED VISION. Again some of their stuff didn't get me moving but these guys were a young band so with time might progress. I did enjoy their set more than that of Stroodle's, a bit more specific with the music they were playing which was Punk. I would say a little influence from NOFX or maybe Offspring. This was made hard to tell as the guitarist and bassist were out of tune for over three quarters of the set! Which was very annoying. The young girl singer put all of her heart into singing the songs, but couldn't quite get the power behind her voice. The rest of the band didn't seem to move much which made sitting and watching a little boring but overall not bad... Closer to what I was waiting to hear.
ESCLAVAGE were on the stage and with a little arrangement from the kit and a lengthy tune of the guitars you could hear the crowd were hipped and ready to see these play! This was the bands first gig and you wouldn't have been able to tell, although they didn't look too energetic. With nearly everyone on the floor these guys were ready to start and so were the crowd. They kick off the evening with a Korn cover, which went down well. They made a few mistakes and the singer was a little annoying as he could only scream the lyrics and not sing in the softer parts! But with a first gig who can be perfect! I look forward to seeing them play again maybe in a few months to see how they have progressed.
The TRASH HEAP HEROES looked very confident and didn't show many nerves. Some of the crowd were still stood up waiting for them to start and looked very excited. When they started you could hear they were a very tight band with what can only be described as a professional sound and the harmonising vocals made the songs sound even better. I'd describe the band's music as well structured, up beat, melodic, twisting and extremely catchy. I was a bit surprised to see they did three covers as the headliners but I think this was to get the crowd going at the start of their set! There energetic set which consisted of the front guys jumping and dancing about, while the drummer was flying around the kit like a mad man on steroids was interesting and made me want to keep watching them. The drummer did drop his sticks a few times but made up for it with his playing abilities. The guitarist and bassist to all my knowledge made no mistakes and looked like confident singers. I was surprised to see that the guitarist was also a lead singer singing lead in about a quarter of set. Even some members of the crowd were singing to the songs, which made it clear they were definitely liked by the crowd. The crowd's enthusiasm for this band also became apparent after the show when I saw a number of different people requesting CDs from the band. I would definitely see these guys play again - there's no doubt I'll be buying the CD.
PORCELIN - These guys were a surprise turn out as they had just played at 'The Rocket'. They were tight and their music well thought out. Personally I thought these guys were probably the second best band on the night - The only thing that let them down was their lack of movement on stage, this was probably because they were completely knackered from the earlier gig. They had a good Image to back up their rocky - grunge tracks.
