Hedroom
Live (Denzil / Zero Tolerance / Pickled Dick)
Denzil kicked off with a sometimes forgettable and occasionally impressive collection punk rock songs. The rocky rhythms were played to a higher level of competency than their faster punk-metal breaks, which generally demonstrated a need to tighten up when playing at speed.
Their performance was improved when the singer put down his guitar and concentrated on an energetic stage presence and with a bit of work on the material and musicianship they might be able to come back and impress.
Zero Tolerance looked a bit worrying initially, looking like walking advertising boards for Pixies, Rancid, and Iron Maiden. Could they possibly combine all those influences emblazoned across their chests?
Initial perceptions were correct, as Zero Tolerance showed us they are a punk band with a heavy metal guitarist, complete with finger tapping and squealy solo’s, however, this wasn’t the bad news that it looked like.
Some phenomenal work on the bass guitar underpinned the set and the confrontation of the punk songs with the metal guitars made for interesting listening. This was a bit of an education and it poses only one question; would it have been better if the band members kept their musical influences a surprise?
Third band on were Greenday-a-likes Pickled Dick. These guys were the top band of the night with their Dookie-era punk-revival complete with harmonies and breaks that could have featured in any of the tracks on that album. The fantastic tightness and the high-octane performance was an experience to enjoy.
As you may already be guessing, every three-minute section was full of hooks and every song had one of ‘those’ choruses.
Next up, and with a sound akin to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and plenty of individual musical talent, Hedroom played music that was pretentiously complicated to execute but remarkably easy to listen to.
Although their music tended to blend together, with only the single poking it’s head over the parapet to take a chance on being remembered, there was a certain groove going on that made Hedroom stand out with a collection rather than an individual moments. Definitely the most energetic performance of the night
Written by Fenton on
