A cold icy Thursday in December and time to pay Round the Corner a visit for a right mix of a night. A relatively new venue, only established in 2021, but a great little hidden place in the fashion district and great for small intimate gigs. Its an area and venue definitely worth keeping an eye on.
First up is Big Bad Cat, Been making a rumble on social media this year and have had some insight into their songs during the demo stage as well as making their patches. Only their third show, the first with this line up and surprisingly the first time they have played in their own town. Sometimes a bit rough round the edges we are treated to some really chill reggae with very heavy political overtures. Topics ranging from personal issues to not one but two songs well deserved criticism to the current/ex home secretary. Villas adds a smooth vocals overlaying the chill back line, nothing too crazy just really chill music. Special shout out to the horn section whose dual lines added something special to the night.
Next up its Haiku Waifu, worked a couple of gigs on the door with these loud two piece but the first time I got to witness it up close and personal and just pure sonic chaos from just two people. The banter between the band and crowd was brutal and fun, comments about not having enough pedals, whether knowing the guitarist name counts or the guitarist one upping someone in the crowd. 1 guitar, 1 drum, 3 amps, plenty of jokes and a ton of pedals creates that calculated chaos that bands like 2 Sick Monkeys and Riggots have done/still do. Heavy riffs from Andy showing just what you can do with a guitar, some pedals and the amp combo. Dave hits the kick hard and tight and both add a great dynamic in vocals on top of it all. In ways that only seem to happen at DIY shows the bass drum decided it didn’t want to stay put so the last song had the bonus of me sitting in front of the bass drum so they could finish the set. Cheers to Vince for helping on bass drum duty and a couple of the pics.
Finally the band I have never heard of, Modern Marriage, the crowd are already excited and they start with an appropriate Gerry and his Pacemakers song which we’re told is lined up to be their next single release. They played a really well thought out mix of indie with some surf music vibes. The crowd are having a great time and you can tell the band thoroughly enjoy it and it shows in the playing. At one point there is some technical difficulty through which we are treated to a very unique cover of Too Drunk To Fuck by the Dead Kennedy’s. Though they played their tight mix of indie and surf great towards the end the addition of Lewis on top of Bens main vocals also add a bit of a Misfits vibe that I didn’t pick up earlier. A band that entertain the crowd with some skilled musicianship and songwriting and go down well with the crowd.
Words: Terry Foster, Photos, Terry Foster/Vince Bones/Nathan Cole
Links:
Modern Marriage: https://www.facebook.com/thismodernmarriage
Haiku Waifu: https://www.facebook.com/haikuwaifu
Big Bad Cat: https://linktr.ee/bigbadcat
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