It's Just Noise have put together a corking line up this evening, and one that would give environmentalists obsessed with noise pollution a fit. First up are God Damn, who treat those who have turned up early to a solid set of heavy, bluesy, stoner rock and roll. Opening with their namesake track, the manifesto of sound that is 'God Damn', it's obvious that the crowds ears are going to get a bit of a bruising before Kong even make the stage. There's something of Queens of the Stone Age in their sound, whilst the duel vocals recall the Blood Brothers - to this reviewer at least. Since the last time I saw the Wolverhampton three-piece (at a gig in their lock-up in Wolves last Oct) they've come on leaps and bounds, and despite Thom Edwards' usual antics being somewhat restricted by the tightly packed stage, the songs speak for themselves. And if the rush for free CDs the band were offering is anything to go by, it's an indication that these boys are ones-to-watch.
Next to the stage are &U&I who, for those who don't know, feature 3/4s of the legendary Blakfish. This is the second time I've caught them play since Blakfish's demise early last year. Last time was at the Off the Cuff festival last year, where they received mental support despite having only played a couple of shows with the new material. Tonight the lads are in good humour: "Good evening Birmingham, we're from Sutton Coldfield!" they joke during a pause midway through their set. Certainly the most melodic of the bands on the bill tonight, &U&I know how to write a catchy hook, with latest single 'Stalk this City' a shining example of the bands technical abilities when it comes to writing a good tune. Wary of running out of time, the band bring their set to a close with "the hit," 'Chancer's Paradise' off of last year's debut EP. I still feel it's their best song to date, and I'm pretty sure I caught a few people in the crowd singing along. They're playing the Saturday at this year's Off the Cuff festival at the Flapper, so if you're planning on going make sure you catch them.
Kong are easily the scariest band I've ever seen. Forget the masks Slipknot wear - there's nothing creepy about those rubber faced fools - Kong are the real deal, and are waaay off the chart when it comes to weirdness. Their music is difficult to describe, it's very fucking heavy (expletive necessary), but it's not just noise for noise sake; there's an inventiveness in their music, as well as a sense of humour that makes them absolutley fantastic as a live band to watch. Just like all the best horror movies, you don't want to look, but at the same time you know you need to because otherwish you'll miss guitarist Magpie flashing his arse at the crowd and calling the crowd something along the lines of "turkeyheads", or bassist Lulu's pale body scrawled over in felt-tip pen with the evening's setlist (amongst other things) gyrating at the edge of the stage. Yes, it's confrontational, it's aurally violent, but tonight Kong have the crowd eating out of their hand. Previous singles 'Leather Penny' and 'Blood of a Dove' give the crowd a good reason to (to steal from Willow Smith's vocab) whip their hair back and forth, equally as does the new material, which leaves us with the question just when will they follow up 2009s Snake Magnet?
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