R*E*P*E*A*T Presents Dude On A Mission, Corporation : Blend and Virgin Suicides, July
17th, Portland Arms.
A last-minute acoustification for The Virgin Suicides meant that instead
of a full-on punk onslaught the night opened with a mix of very worthy
covers(This Is Yesterday stands out in the memory) and tracks from the
forthcoming EP. And it became clear that though VS as a full band always
appear to be more noise and anger than melody, underneath all that sound
is a substance which can be transformed into an acoustic set of stripped-down
tunes that reels you in and doesn't sound diminished at all. When I
first heard that VS would be going acoustic for the night I was disappointed,
and when they left the stage I didn't feel short-changed in the slightest
- what Corporation:Blend have a stronger sense of theatre than any other band
I've seen; you can almost hear the swish of red velvet as the curtains
pull back. And finally, Dude on a Mission's funk-tinged rock which reminded me
of a more expansive early Greenday, the timing a little wayward but
heaven forbid they should let that put them off. It wasn't really my
kinda thing musically but their ability to play to an audience is worthy
of respect. Their set was saturated with crowd awareness - sing-along
sections, massive riffs, the lead singer jumping into the crowd... a
general sense of future arena-conquest, which is an impressive thing
to pull off in a 150-capacity
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