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?!!

BRIDGE AND TUNNEL + WOLF COLONEL + THE ROBOCOP KRAUS
London ROTA Sessions at Notting Hill Arts Club 17th November 2001
A VERY eclectic triple bill for this instalment of the fantastic Saturday afternoon free shows.
The Robocop Kraus are from Germany (Hamburg, I think) and are completely unknown to me. I have no idea whether they've ever played London before nor if they've released any records in the UK - although their German releases are available after their set. What I do know is that they're really impressive. The opening couple of songs are so energetic they throw me completely - it is still early afternoon and I've only been up for just over an hour!
The Robocop Kraus are basically an energetic punk band, not a million miles removed from the likes of Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses and Trail of Dead, with a few new wave-y touches thrown in for good measure. They have bags of energy and all the musicians are really, really tight - and just when you're attention is wandering the drummer will step things up a gear. Check out their records if you can, or better still go and see them they next time they're back in the UK.
Today Wolf Colonel aren't really Wolf Colonel. Today Wolf Colonel is just main songwriter Jason Anderson bashing away on his guitar, coming across like a demo version of the two WC albums so far. If you're at all familiar with their material you'll know that their blend of Lemonheads, Guided By Voices and J Mascis lends itself to a solo performance, and while I'd rather have seen the full band, Jason's set is just fine. There is more scope for ad-libs and spontaneous songs, like the one he's just written about Notting Hill!, and the whole thing ends up being much more informal than the usual set. You can pick out the lyrics better as well - full marks for the almost rhyming "She's thrown away all her bras/ she listens to Was Not Was".
Bridge and Tunnel are another surprise. I wasn't too familar with them either, so when someone compared them to Appliance I expected them to be relying on their laptops rather than their guitars. All my doubts fade when the singer (who looks like he's in a metal band for a start) announces 'This song is called "The Kids Are Dead". Bridge and Tunnel are very much a rock band, and even better than that, they aren't afraid to use technology. I know what you're thinking - Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, but that's way off the mark. Bridge and Tunnel's music has the same sort of brodding malevolence as someone like Shellac or the For Carnation, without sounding at all like either of them. The songtitles are a good guide to what's going on - 'Driveby Summer' pulses and prowls along without ever exploding. It just sort of lurks. New song 'We are the Sons of Red Black and Blue' and 'A Wheelchair for Mrs Ruples' ("goddamn it, does she ever need one" says the singer) are the other outstanding tracks. Consider me a fan.

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