Renton / Junglists / The Immediate + more

St Bart's School, Newbury

2.7.04

A musical extravaganza featuring artists from a hugely diverse musical spectrum all united for a good cause - raising funds (around £300 in the end) for Naomi House children's hospice. St. Bart's School doesn't get much rock n roll, but tonight's an exception as some of the highest-octane national and local bands take to its stage.

A Year 9 covers band opens the evening, playing three songs including an impression version of Metallica's Enter Sandman. Not only do all members play well despite their tender age, but they're also amazingly tight. The Shaggy Parasols follow them, but demonstrate that they definitely require more practice as an abortive Clash medley goes horrendously wrong.

Being a member of the next band myself I felt it would be inappropriate to review their live performance, so Danny Jones kindly wrote these words:
"The Immediate: A refreshing blast of funky, retro, psychedelia. The songs flow nicely but unsurprisingly the rather suave band members do look somewhat out of place alongside the baggy clothed local contingent, setting them off guard and maybe dampening the response from the younger audience sector. It's a good contrast though, with all members contributing to the slick time machine well, with special mention going Faye Hurst's powerful voice and the last-minute-stand-in Joost Hendricx on drums. With more stage movement and a little more experience they will really, finally, add diversity to the local scene."

The Junglists seem to be going from strength to strength; despite having played only a handful of gigs, they've gradually transformed into one of Newbury's best-loved ska punk acts. Tonight they give a debut to new instrumental track Sorry Dave I Can't Let You Do That featuring some impressive violin soloing from vocalist Will Harvey, giving a new twist to their sound. With the afore mentioned baggy contingent out in full force the Junglists as per usual go down well with the ska-friendly crowd, and although their set is cut short due to time constraints the end on arguably their best track No Matter What End, complete with it's funky breaks and frenetic chorus.

Pic : Matt Williams

Renton are a true rock n roll band in every sense of the word. Noisy, frivolous and displaying shedloads of attitude, their angular post-punk careers around the hall incarcerating the likes of Beautiful Youth and Aerosol within the opening fragment of their set. Influence-wise, the most obvious would be that of 70s post-punk pioneers such as Television, Gang of Four and Talking Heads, although looking beyond the initial spikey guitar melange, the soundscapes of Joy Division and to a lesser extent The Jam can be detected, lead guitarist Per Sellberg's electric 12-string adding an unusual texture to Renton's sound. Other highlights of the Anglo-Swedish quartets' show include the wonderfully-named recent single I'll only kiss you if your name is Jane Annabel Hitler and the controlled chaos of Babies.

Clive Drew

Renton have upcoming dates including:

July 15th - Infinity, Old Burlington Street, W1

August 24th - Buffalo Bar, London

September 8th - London ULU (supporting Chikinki)