Reviews

With at least eight separate gigs taking place on the night of the 16th of December 2006 it was never going to be easy (or in fact possible) to cover all of them. So I decided on trying my best at getting to the two that were taking place nearest each other.

Rols of Gay Army.

First up it was time to crack out the disco lights and combat boots as Gay Army were taking to the stage at Pieces Bar in aid of the NCH and as ever the band mixed new wave punk and danceable synth sounds to great effect.

Before the band even got on the stage however they treated the audience to something that may well be a first for a local band playing a small bar, that being a video montage of various World War Two propaganda posters and documentary photographs being played on the TV screens around the bar.

Ian and Sean of Gay Army.

This continued as the band began to play with a projected backdrop of war footage. While the images weren't really matched to the music in any way this technical device served to heighten the aesthetic presented by the band through their vaguely military attire and nicknames.

As ever Gay Army's performance was a hard hitting, distortion filled experience, however tonight they seemed to be heading in an even more 'dark disco' direction than in the past. While they undoubtedly still retained the bite and musicality of past performances their style tonight seemed much more heavily influenced by the post-punk style of John Lydon's PiL or Killing Joke than the more Dead Kennedies' style proto-hardcore influences they had displayed in the past.

Jo of Gay Army.

Whatever sound they were going for though, they got a fair number in the busy bar dancing including Deputy John Gollop who was in attendance and to whom they even dedicated a song.

As well as some of their now familiar tunes like 'Cracked Amerika' and 'Fire!' tonight we were treated to a few new tracks, including the blasting 'Purple Hearts', which proved just as popular as the older number and continued to highlight the bands fantastic combination of heavy bass and drums, more experimental guitar sounds, synth based highlights and roaring distorted vocals.

As soon as the final chords of 'Cracked Amerika' had left my ears I headed around to the other side of the market building for a considerably different musical experience at The Golden Lion where pop-punk 'veterans' Goldfish Don't Bounce were making a rare appearance.

Goldfish Don't Bounce.

Though the band have been together for several years, and even have a self recorded CD under their belts, this was my first taste of them in the live arena, and it was interesting to say the least.

Sounding something like 'Dude Ranch' or 'Cheshire Cat' era Blink-182 this four piece, (comprised of a drummer, bass player, vocalist/guitarist and seemingly metal loving second guitarist) were shambolic and fun in all the right ways.

While all their songs seemed to fit the bill of the a-typical pop punk that was coming out of the USA before emo reared its be-fringed head, the band exuded a natural confidence and ability to joke with the audience, be they personal friends of the band or random hecklers whose evening in the pub had been so rudely interrupted, which made for an entertaining set (they also put these skills to the test as they battled through fairly major technical difficulties like several broken guitar strings).

Iain of Goldfish Don't Bounce.

While Goldfish Don't Bounce's songs may be somewhat generic in sound and their playing this evening was decidedly hit and miss (though they did show the promise to do great things, especially guitarist 'Backy' with his between song forays into the music of Pantera and Slayer), the sort of tunes they were playing were never meant to be note perfect pieces of technical wizardry but short, sharp moments of speedy fun.

And taking that as a basis, tonight Goldfish Don't Bounce were as good as they come, and lets just hope some of Guernsey's venue issues are addressed soon and bands like this get more chance to play and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.