A real gig, an actual real gig, we travel out to Widnes to the Snig and find a crowd of like minded people wanting to see bands after so long. All the covid rules are in place and we find ourselves sat in a large beer garden and facing a purpose built stage under the shadow of the Runcorn Bridge, a massive structure with countless thousands of tons of metal. This is well set up, the weather is dodgy and goes from light rain to sunburning sun, with the Snig organisers having an indoors gig venue ready to go if needed.
Serious Wigan have the difficult job of warming up the audience and do it well. Full on punk with the songs directing the energy. melody and power combined with charged lyrics that were reflective rather than full on punk combative such as ‘Not angry any more’ and an almost resigned ‘No future no solution no chance of a revolution anymore’. Some great melodic guitar playing kept it all on track.
The Graves continue their return from the, er, grave, with a powerful punky and melodic set. They had an air of a free festival band from years gone by. The punkish mannerisms were backed by a lot of really great lead guitar playing and reggae meets punk rhythms. It sounds razor sharp, delivered with humour that defies their capabilities, and that know what they are doing, slick and tight.
Ticnotoc took a while to get set up but it was worth the wait. Slick upbeat Ska flavoured. Noisy and sharply delivered with great sound letting both well played guitars be heard clearly atop the thudding bass and drums. Add a vocalist who owned the stage and a strong post punk element to the noise with catchy melodies and great songs. When they accelerate into great hooky chorus’s it soars. A maelstrom of passion, conviction and great music delivered with accomplished, emotional and perfect musicianship.
Suddenly the sonic atmosphere is changed, Chicken Man and the Bad Eggs take the stage, younger than the previous bands and with a heavier, darker sound. This is fast and furious, deep bass lines that (without the higher melodic flourishes of Peter Hook) somehow had me thinking of Joy Division, an amped up speadfreak wild version of Joy Division mixed with The Stooges. The Chicken Man (who I assume is the singer) exploded onto the stage and hit an Iggy vibe with his intensity and the band had a wildness about them that was both confrontational, in the best of ways, and inclusive. Original and powerful. You have to come along with them for the all consuming ride.
Last Gang in Town hit us with an accomplished set of covers (and some great/bad jokes in between), all punk classics played tightly and with flair. They did their stuff with an ease that defied their craft and I enjoyed their precise interpretations of classics that had me singing along.
Zen Baseballbat. I’d seen these at Sound in Liverpool a while back and was impressed enough to review an album. This is Ska and almost Dub heavy with dancehall influences, but that doesn’t do justice. Electronics and keyboards as a background to the sharp and seriously intense groove that built up and up on the stage. Political, references to Marx, deep and thoughtful music that they never let get in the way of the sheer rhythmic power. A bass player that delivered a superb, almost funky, very danceable bottom end to their sound combined with metronome sharp drums. With this band it all works together, nothing gets in the way of building their groove. It’s all excellently performed and left me transfixed. There is an anger in their music, on stage they are constantly moving and the musical patterns they create are shifting all the time, nothing stands still but the groove they create is huge. This band should be big, I can easily see them on festival stages with large audiences, yet they keep it pure and honest and from the heart. This time I bought the album.
Apologies to the final band, The Racket as time had got the better of us we had to leave. If anyone can fill in the blanks here we (at Last Stop) would appreciate it.
This was a well organised and presented welcome return to ‘proper’ live music. Not a duff moment and fantastic to be at a real gig again. The Snig venue should be applauded for creating a happy place full of gig goers safely enjoying themselves, a great place to see music, all in the shade of tons and tons of metal in the shape of the incredibly dramatic (old) Runcorn Bridge and fantastic views of the upper Mersey Estuary.
Word: RBY, Photos: RBY/Adrian Wharton
Links:
Serious Wigan: https://www.facebook.com/Serious-Wigan-1543503109040648
The Graves: Hey, we can’t find a link to these, can anyone help?!
Ticnotoc: https://www.facebook.com/ticnotoc100
Chicken Man and the Bad Eggs: https://www.facebook.com/cmatbe
Zen Baseballbat: https://www.facebook.com/ZenBaseballbat
The Racket: https://www.facebook.com/TheRacketMusicUK
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