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20 May, 2008
Outbreak and guests - Refuel, 9/5/08
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From the start the Green Key looked like they were holding back. They had an awesome sound that was full of energy and one expected to see that energy manifested onstage. Standing outside you could imaging a fantastic act but the straggling punters present for the first of the nights performances did little to inspire this band to do more. Their stage presence aside though, this band certainly knows what they are doing. The vocals could have been turned up a bit but it wasn’t too much of a problem. With a saxophone, keyboard, base, guitar and drums they really get the job done. Very empowering.

Next up were Ashes of Eden. One could accuse me of being slightly bias towards metal bands but, hey, get over it. Ashes had the room filling before they even hit the first chord. Mastering that challenging task of simultaneously head-banging and playing well (lets face it most people can’t do both at the same time). Three songs in and even those at the back weren’t standing still. With the exception of two very stubborn guys in the middle who never moved a muscle - come on people get a life.

The band had some excellent covers including Iron Maiden, The Foo Fighters and a couple by Rage Against the Machine that would make Tom Morello proud. But it was their originals that really took off. The small stage did them no justice as it left almost no room for movement. The lead vocalist was squeezed in between the two guitarists and bass player with no space to move his arms let alone walk around. Ashes rose to the challenge however with a finish that left the crowd chanting “More!”

Let’s just say the guests of honour did not disappoint. Outbreak kept the crowd going late into the night. Standing on the sidelines I felt like the kid in Almost Famous who can’t write while watching Stillwater. They were obviously enjoying themselves and this attitude was reflected by the crowd. Their stage presence must’ve been good because I could rarely see them through the first two rows (If you can write and mosh please tell me how).

It is safe to say that the band’s original songs were better known to punters than the few covers they squeezed into their line-up. With the many Outbreak Ts walking around you could tell that people new who they were there to see.

The room started off quite full but this was condensed as people began to push forward. Unfortunately this created the illusion that it had been a poor turn out. On the bright side however it left plenty of room for drunken dancing at the back. Speaking of turnout, they did lose a large section of the crowd when they announced that they were being videoed for TV! The bands clean sound and Maiden-like riffs soon had the punters creeping back for more but it goes to show you should wait until people are drunk enough not to care about looking like an arse on national television before you make such an announcement.

After Outbreak came The DFenders whose controversial Batman-sodomising-Robin shirts deserve special mention. One girl in particular told me she had been “preoccupied with them all night”. Taking the stage just after 1am, they put on a good show for those of us who stayed behind. With a slightly more poppy sound than the rest of the line-up they soon let people know that it wasn’t time to warm down. It’s a pity they didn’t get an earlier billing. Personally I love Ghostbusters so after that they could do no wrong.


By Alice Bailey



Posted by rob

Posted by rob
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