MUSIC

Thekla, Bristol (Wed 14 Dec)

Golly, when Thekla say ‘early show’, they mean it. Failsafe are on stage at the ungodly hour of 6.30 when Venue is still in front of the mirror teasing his hair into novel and exciting shapes. We’ve entirely missed them, apologies for that. It’s a young crowd here for Emo, Screamo and Brian Eno (did you spot the ringer?), Bullet For My Valentine and Effervescence hoodies dominate. It’s fairly certain your correspondent is the only person here who has not seen ‘Twilight’. I gather The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus arrived at their name by randomly selecting words. Proof that it’s a practice best left to William Burroughs. Heavy melodic rock is the order of the day, distinguished only by that odd hardcore vocal mannerism of guttural screaming that sounds like someone dry-heaving into a toilet bowl. Singer Ronnie Winter delivers solid US rawk, doggedly encouraging singalongs from the listless audience and breaking up the dynamics with an acoustic interlude. Joshua, the new 18-year-old guitarist is introduced and is left alone on stage for five minutes to shred and dive bomb with alarmingly precocious prowess. It’s all highly professional and a little anonymous. Up on deck, the houseboats in the harbour are strung with Christmas lights and twinkle charmingly. Arranging a small loan, Venue purchases a bottle of beer. The headliners, Dayton, Ohio’s Hawthorne Heights, are cut from the same cloth with a keener ear for pop: think Weezer for whiners. They’re clearly a little unnerved at playing on a boat (“You know, we’re actually underwater right now.”). Their new EP is called ‘Hate’. These are the lyrics: “I hate my mom and I hate my dad for leaving me alone in this world. I swear to god if I had a knife I’d cut out my heart and give it to her.” Is this ‘complaint rock’? I think it probably is. It’s their merchandise guy’s birthday (“Happy birthday, Corndog!”). The singer urges us to go and cut off the bill of his cap. This is met with general bafflement but is clearly a most heinous act in Dayton, Ohio. (Kid Pensioner)

Copyright Kid Pensioner 2011; pic copyright Jenny Branton 2011