JOANNA GRUESOME/ MAMMOTH PENGUINS/ NEWTS- Portland Arms, Cambridge
2.10.16
The Portland is full this evening, so this must be quite an occasion
for local trio, NEWTS, despite looking like they should be at home
preparing their briefcases for the morning commute. Though they are
unlikely-looking rockers (apart from the plaid-shirt-and- Converse
attire of the lead singer), they prove that they can pen a rollicking
tune. Having just released their first eponymous EP, NEWTS take us
on a brief canter through grunge, post-hardcore and indie; the guitar
work during the slightly trippy Pure cements an air of
doom only betrayed by their energetic and engaging live performance.
However, the stand-out track is Back, a brief punch to
the giblets just begging for a mosh pit. Of course, its Sunday
night and Cambridge does not oblige. Still, quite a few heads nodded
so I would call that a success.
And while Newts look like they are having a genuinely good time, has
something happened to piss Mammoth Penguins off? The answer, we later
find out, appears to be yes as the fire alarm goes off
mid-set and so does the sound, for a time, cutting their performance
short. That said, they do seem a bit peeved before this. Maybe theyre
a bit tired? But anyway. Another threesome- this time fronted by Emma
Kupa, former singer of Sheffield indie-popsters, Standard Fare- Mammoth
Penguins are also very much a local band, and a local band doing really
rather well for themselves. Completed by someone that I used to go
to school with (Tom Barden- Return Of ID/The Pony Collaboration) and
someone the plus one used to go to college with/be in a band with
(Mark Boxall- a million Cambridge bands), Mammoth Penguins have been
championed by 6 Music recently and, er, do indie-pop like them other
bands they were in. Not that thats a criticism. It was good
then and its good now. Kupas distinctive melodic vocal
splices up their jangly, slightly jaded songs about being old and
disappointed, and, with a potentially shy performance, they arent
reinventing the wheel by any means but they are very pleasant.
And the revisiting of musical ground sets the precedent for headline
act, Joanna Gruesome, a band I have decided that deliver a feeling
of what it was like seeing the most-hyped acts on their way up through
the toilet circuit about twenty years ago. The toilet circuit was
a lot more dingy then but it was ours. I frequented The Boat Race
in Cambridge most nights, stalking/annoying local bands, head stuck
in the NME, ears plugged into The Evening Session, destroying my hair
with Sun In and upsetting my friends Mum by the way I dressed.
I imagine that the teenagers here now (and those on stage that probably
arent much older) have the same lust for live performance that
I did then (with no doubt the same rituals) and it makes me stop and
wonder. Has the music scene brought itself full circle, as in I have
now heard it all before? Does that mean theres no place for
me anymore? Did I even have a place in it to begin with? After all,
I am probably the only person in my generation who would admit that
I saw BIS back in the day and this lot sound a bit like them, for
Crying Out Loud. I never thought I would repeat that experience (actually,
I loved them. I saw them a few times. Sssshh).
I enjoy watching JG too. Their fringes are strong and there is a joy
to their gang mentality. Two female vocalists (one shouty, one less
shouty) lead the noisy pop alongside a younger, blonder David Baddiel
stage right (staring at the wall), another bloke who looks like Rob
Newman (not staring at the wall), a guitarist who looks far more punky
than the rest of them and a drummer (couldnt see them). With
songs so similar that, when they improvise their set list, they have
to stop (weve played that one already), what I admire
more than their songwriting is that they dont care. Because
Joanna Gruesome could quite obviously be doing a day job, or maybe
studying or working in an alternative clothing store. Yes, what makes
them interesting is that its clear that they know how lucky
they are and are out to enjoy it for as long they can. Which, as the
last night of their recent tour draws to an end, I am sure will be
a little while yet.
Thanks to Lucy at But I Like You PR for sorting this
evening out for us.
Words and Pix : Anna C
https://www.facebook.com/newtsband/
https://www.facebook.com/MammothPenguins
https://joannagruesome.bandcamp.com/