Its a pretty much full Outpost on a Thursday night, queues to get in type of crowded. Hoonose are first up. The impassioned father and daughter duo rip into their no nonsense punk revisited through the looking glass of folk protest songs set with energetic abandon. There’s something refreshing always about this band whether the simplicity of the pared down music or the sheer elegance and passion of the lyrics - covering everything from global warming, environmental issues, the impact of todays politicians on real people - that despite their often downbeat subjects can be uplifting. They describe the worlds problems as they see them in straightforward terms and suggest how things could be improved rather than just complain.
I’m told that The Homeless Poetry Club are on their first gig, that their bass player couldn’t make the gig so the band rejigged the lineup just before playing. They seem to have coped well with any problems they may have had though and its a strong but short set with strong vocals, fluid baselines and heavy drums combining well. Extra points for the bassist wearing a Rush Fly by Night T-Shirt too!
Desire Lines are self effacing and funny, there’s plenty of humour shown as they get ready to play so I’m a little relaxed and not expecting what follows. The mish-mash of musical virtuosity and different styles they produce takes me by surprise. As the band roar through their set with some amazing guitar skills being shown off and well matched by a creative and inventive bass player and kept in line by some extremely tight drums I fell my jaw drop a touch. I’m hearing everything from Jethro Tull to blasts of early Sammy Hagar (Editor: Really?) and a lot of 80s sounds flying around, especially a Big Country feel. They don’t take the easy route though but do wander off musically to wherever suits them, highly skilled, great songs and some great vocals.
Visceral Noise Department are a big bombastic fun powerhouse of a band. This Glaswegian gang have honed their show over a few years now and their tightness and (especially when swapping instruments) slickness is stunning. The humour is big with them, preambles to songs contain many jokes and the songs are frequently downright funny but they don’t shy away from serious subjects and their fun demeanour does not adversely impact their subjects when they delve into the lies of mental illness. It’s a blistering set, no member of the band (and this includes the drummer) stays in the same place or on the same instrument for long. They laugh we doo too, with not at, then they hit up some great songs and move forward. And then there’s suddenly a flute being played…
Words/Photos: Richie Yates
Links:
Hoonose: https://www.facebook.com/Phuknose
Desire Lines: https://www.facebook.com/100080281626174
Visceral Noise Department: https://www.facebook.com/visceralnoisedepartment