OXBOW + WOLF COLONEL
London Kentish Town the Verge 15th May 2002
Well, this certainly takes the credit for most mismatched gig of the season. It was originally intended as a solo Wolf Colonel set from Jason Anderson, supported by the melodic hardcore of Econoline and Stanton, when someone asked if Oxbow could play and things changed dramatically.
Let me explain. If you don't know these bands - and I'm guessing you don't! - you won't realise the conflict here. Oxbow are a hugely proficient underground-metal band and Jason from Wolf Colonel plays witty pop-punk while sitting on a chair in the middle of the crowd! As a fairly neutral observer, I found the contrast (and near conflict!) between both sets of fans bizarrely entertaining.
The apparent wussiness of the crosslegged Wolf Colonel fans seated on the floor was just too much for one idiot who did his best to put Jason off by performing a strange Bez-meets-heckler routine right beside him. This is distracting until the hands-on approach of the soundman sees the heckler disappearing for a while, only to return looking rather sheepish. Jason was content to keep entertaining us with a lot of songs from the forthcoming album, and older material from 'The Castle'. No heckler in the world can ruin lines like 'She threw away all her bras. she listens to Was Not Was/ their second album is her favourite'. Fans of Guided by Voices, Lemonheads, Sebadoh should check out Wolf Colonel's records (on K) ASAP.
The whole mood of the place changes for Oxbow. They've been going for years but I've never encountered them before, in fact when I looked fo websites about them, one actually reported that they had broken up. It's possible for a few of the fans here, this is like seeing a band resurrected. The vocalist takes a theatrical approach to things and adds a menacing homo-erotic edge to the music. A few people mutter that he's like a black Henry Rollins, although he comes across as quite unique - posing shirtless, foaming at the mouth, and offering a 'free T-shirt... and a free assfucking' to anyone who saw them play back in 1990 !
Oxbow's set is powerful, with roots in underground prog metal and jazz, and their intro tape of emotional Arabic music (I'm guessing Om Kulthoum or Mohammed Ab-dl Waheb) sets an impressive tone.
On a negative note, the hecklers are on the other side now, and a dramatic Oxbow ending is ruined by someone wolf-whistling in each pause. People, why can't we all just get along?!!
