Shelter @ Rios
Only 2 UK tour dates and Bradford gets the only one outside London, and the biggest to boot! Such is the pull and loyalty of Yorkshires hardcore "you know the score" fans. A show dedicated to old fans and Nick Royles in particular, Shelter start sluggishly, as much due to jet lag as the PA system, which sounded muffled and stodgey. A different line-up to their last Rio show, with a tattooed blond powerhouse, who appears to ,have the misfortune to be called 'Moshpit', on drums and a new guitarist who remains nameless. Shelter are not the most stable of bands personnel wise, only Ray remains from the band that recorded the 1990 album, 'Perfection Of Desire'. Barely has the opening chord subsided when the first stagediver of the night looks for a soft landing. That pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the show, and at times it seems almost impossible for the band to play as they are buffeted by the interlopers. Ray tells us that the only rule is that you can't still be on the stage when the music stps. I just wished he'd added 'and no prats in para boots either', I get so annoyed when these guys expect someone to catch them and at the same time put their own teeth at risk, sort it out arseholes. Much has been written about the Hare Krishna side of things but the sentiments are pretty much standard hardcore fayre, love and peace, whilst everyone batters the fuck out of each other in the pit, a strange irony. Shelter have so much energy at their control, Ray continually practicing his roundhouse drop kicks, like a Thai boxer on speed, Porcell thrashing out the power chords and bassist, Franklin, keeping a brutal, beautiful rhythm on his five string. The set is an amalgamation of all their albums todate, with 'Shelter', 'Manta', 'Civilised Man', 'Appreciation' and 'Empathy' mixed up with some of the newer 'Beyond Planet Earth' stuff. Strangely though no place for the new single 'Whole Wide World', obviously not too bothered about sucking the corporate cock as a promotional tool! They do find space for 'In Praise Of Others' however, which is classic Shelter at their best. No encore histrionics, Ray explains that there are going to be 3 more songs and that's it. Listen carefully and you hear little snippets of Fugazi, Bad Brains and NOFX amongst others, all shaken up in a melodic hardcore blender. Rage Against The Machine would kill for songs this good. Shelter may not be huge but their hearts are. Good work rishna fellows, but please don't wait another two years to come back. Andi NME Brat Bus Tour @ L2 Liverpool
For the first time since its inception there was no Leeds show this year and so it is that I found myself
in Liverpool, where it seems everyone has come to see the headliners, Stereophonics and bugger the
rest. How do I know this, simply by the numbers propping up the bar downstairs for the other 3
bands and the sheer weight of numbers of 'Word Gets Around' T-shirts being worn. Previous Brat
tours seem to have opted for 4 bands of all about the same standing, and
so it is perhaps a little
unfortunate thatTheaudience are first, with barely anyone taking much notice. Okay so the singer is
quite attractive with a twee line in understated vocals, but merely being the daughter of a Blue Peter
presenter, fronting a plinky plonk fizz 6th form band does not a good band make. The Warm Jets do
considerably better, probably due to Louis's raised profile as Zoe Ball's lover (now sadly ex-lover), and
people want to check him out. Cute and blonde as he may be, he really does have the ear for a good
tune and with Aki fitting in on bass so well, it won't be long before everyone's humming 'Never
Never', 'Hurricane', 'Hawaiian', 'Autopia' and 'Down'. With a new keyboard player in tow, it frees Paul
Noble to concentrate on his very distinctive guitar style. Catchy, infectious pop and sounding
nothing whatsoever like Brian Eno. They are much different form the band I saw a year ago, more
polished, less shambolic and now with new bassist Aki on board, acting a s a counterpoint to Louis,
interesting to watch. Asian Dub Foundation come highly recommended, but Liverpool obviously
havn't heard the news yet, and the band struggle on with their bhangra tinged dub workouts, whilst
punters head for the bar, not my cup of tea either, I join them.
There really is a buzz about surrounding the Stereophonics these days. 'Word Gets Around' was THE
debut LP of 1997, and it seems that everyone in L2 tonight has got a copy because they are word
perfect to every song. Richard, resplendent in his new peroxide, 'rock star' hair do and drummer
Stuart demonstrating a hair don't, keep a tight backbeat, which allows Kelly, the most unlikely sex
symbol since Frankie Dettori, to demonstrate his tonsorial dexterity. Obviously not everything about
the band has entered the scouse psyche, as one
particular punter standing just within earshot is
shocked to find out 'they're fucking Welsh !" Havn't you heard mate, it's trendy these days. And it
would be so easy to dismiss the Stereophonics if it were simply a case of being this months thing, but
with songs like 'Tramps Vest', 'Local Boy', 'Traffic' and 'A Thousand Trees', they display a maturity and
depth missing in so many current bands, who sacrifice quality by trying to run before they can walk.
Three-piece bands do't come any tighter than this, they even manage to make the Manics look sloppy
by comparison. Along with Feeder and Silver Sun they represent a bright spot on the (not too distant)
horizon of British rock. They now need a bloody good rest, having toured almost continually for the
last year, before they even think about recording a new LP. Bands this precious don't need to be hot-
housed, or we are all the losers. ANDI
