大象传媒

By the time our headliners make it to the venue, thanks to the vagaries of travel problems (and sickness) we're already a couple of acts in, Chocolate Love Factory and 99 Miles of Bad Road already having done their stuff. Openers CLF kick off the evening with their grungy stoner sound - classic rock vox, and distorted, extended melody at the root of what they do. Immediately recalling the likes of Queens Of The Stone Age due to their catchy, playful riffs, new single 茂驴陆Sex You Can Text' is wonderfully dirty and distorted stompy rock. However, in case we're lulled in too much by them, they end the set with flying drumsticks and a bass guitar being set bouncing off the floor, ensuring our undivided intention.

99 Miles of Bad Road begin loud and distorted, perhaps not always intentionally, and dovetail nicely with our opener, treading a similar classic rock path. Perhaps more gravelly, they deal in speedier riffs about Star Wars, with metally edges. 听茂驴陆John Thompson' however, unleashes a nice little bit of Primus style funk before their closing Nirvana cover.

Gascan Ruckus, most of them looking barely old enough to be shaving, finally get going with youthful vim and fire. Permanently on the edge of chaos on-stage, they're saved from falling apart by their wide-eyed joy in what they're doing, debuting a couple of songs this evening. Oldies 茂驴陆Yarna' and 茂驴陆Rise Up' stand out, the former being the sound of youth doing what it wants, bouncing all over the place, whilst incorporating a skanky reggae vibe. The latter, their last song of the evening, is full of pogotastic dumb fun with riffs all over the place, and more hooks than a fishing supplies shop.

Having braved the rough conditions to get here, albeit without all their dinner, Djevara are playing their first show of 2011, but display no signs of rust. 听Immediately it's a change in mood, heavier, nastier, angrier and more political than what's gone before. The weightier material, ranging in subject matter from domestic violence to politics and culture, recalls the likes of Rage Against The Machine, At The Drive In, and Gojira, without feeling disjointed. Their use of samples to preface songs recalls the likes of Negativland, and provokes discomfort and circumspection - this is music to provoke thought, as well as to rock out to. Their closing number is prefaced by a rant from comedian Bill Hicks about 茂驴陆soulless茂驴陆 and 茂驴陆corporate茂驴陆 music. This is a charge than definitely cannot be levelled at Djevara.

William Johnston