- Independent UK Promoting

COG Review - 6/6/09 (S.T.Party/Wet Paint/Knowledge)

Club Night Review

Saturday 6^th June at the Lexington

Bands: Screaming Tea Party, Wet Paint, The Knowledge

Ok here we go…*Strange and interesting things happen on the tube you know. This one time, a guy sat next to me in a nearly empty carriage. Suddenly, he started beating his empty plastic water bottle whilst emitting that pained-sigh noise people make just before they scream in a struggle. Then he beat the window quite hard. Then he kicked the bottle across the length of the carriage while seated. Impressed with his kicking ability, I promptly switched carriages at the next stop.

This other time an old woman fell over. A man came to help, then slipped and fell too. I’m sure it was her piss that caused both falls, because she stunk of it. Then this other time the lead singer of the Foals walked right by me, trying desperately not to be noticed. To be honest, I was offended. No stopping over, going ‘hey, you’re that bloke what writes reviews? You’re very good, I’m a huge fan, and I’m going to compose all future Foals songs solely as tribute to your genius’? The temptation to follow him to his seat, present him with a copy of their chart position, and then go ‘Cassius, it’s over’ was resisted – much to my regret.

And the one thing all these wholesome experiences have in common? They all occurred on the first Saturday of the month, known in Timbuktu as COG day.**

This particular night was almost like a genre competition, as three acts very different from one another competed for the prize of COG day Champion, (and the chance to be entered into the prize draw for a genuine pair of Doltshe & Gabanner sunglasses, and several popular albums on cassette tape). The first group comprised of two rappers, a female vocalist, a guitarist, a double bass player and no drummer – they use a drum track on most of their songs. They go by the name of The Knowledge, which you thought would be enough to put you off, but they then start spitting street philosophy to a simple, standard riff, which essentially made them sound like two feet of the Flobots’ irritable bowel.

After ten seconds of ‘People Look at Me Different’ your mind drifts to the Simpsons episode when Homer’s barbershop quartet the B-Sharps sang on the roof and one of the Beatles passes by in a car and says ‘It’s been done.’ A Brit Black Eyed Peas with none of the vim – we get it. Except of course, we don’t.

What started off as an attempt at lively trip hop/ska/pop with some groove-laden riffs developed, and improved, into a more mellow, more contemplative sound towards the end of the set – and it was this slower pacing and more soulful vibe that could land them major success. While tracks like ‘People Look at Me Different’ lack any originality or quality, the more chilled out ‘What Else’ and ‘Crazy Fire’ were enjoyable.

‘October Ember’ was even better in an ever-improving set. The harmonies were harmonious, the build-ups soaring. If they could develop in this direction, it’s a style they could call their own. The last track ‘Integrity’ was the best song yet, a convincing portent of their potential.

They were followed by their antithesis. Wet Paint are a hairy (except for the female drummer) 4-piece proffering orthodox rock from the church of Pavement. Theirs is the kind of sound that would typify the word ‘rock’ to people who only listen to Sinatra.

With their beards, genuinely messy hair and flannel shirts, the grunge influence was worn on their sleeve, but it’s the other, lighter bands of that era, as well as some of the rockier indie bands from the Brit Pop phase (early Manic Street Preachers and a young Stereophonics) that they most take after. The shame of it is that they never seem to reach the heights of even those acts.

But it has to be said that while they did not make a massive impression with their standard riffs and predictable song structures, their downbeat, downcast, dirty lo-fi sound was welcome and novel. They were refreshingly depressed, and their timing is good as they stick out like a sore thumb amidst the other indie acts out there; a 90s post-grunge band in the middle of an 80s revival, in one way they’re ahead of their time.

But in many other ways they’re not. Apart from the hooky ‘Bad Education’, Wet Paint’s material just doesn’t quite cut it. They’re Screaming Trees with acid reflux, Ash doing a bad impression of Silverchair, and are in danger of becoming Weezer without a hit single. They’re listenable, but they’re the typical, rather than the ultimate, garage band.

No such description could be given to the headliners though. A Japanese trio of a girl and two boys got on stage and spent ten minutes preparing their equipment. After one of them fixed his gas mask on, another quietly mumbled, ‘Hello, we are Screaming Tea Party,’ into the mic. Those who were seated instantly got up and everyone crowded close to the stage in anticipation. It was a great show of respect to a truly unique band.

Screaming Tea Party are a wall of noise. They’re art metal – reverb and distortion, incredibly fast riffs and echoing vocals. But then they’re also a twee, slow-paced indie band that sound like they’re part of a hippy 60s revival tour. Powerful, messy, thrashy songs like ‘Between air and air’ are a world apart from the incredibly sweet and weird ‘Death egg’ (which they unfortunately didn’t play on this showing), and both are different from the lively indie-punk style of ‘I’d Rather Be Stuck On The Stair Rail’.

And yet all three songs definitely belong to Screaming Tea Party. It’s a sound that’s all their own, and an attitude that strikes of a group of people who don’t fit in. They’re not indie and they’re not J-Rock, in fact they’re not anything. They’re root-vegetables-in-a-washing-machine crazy, but because they have such quality they’re accepted and adored even more.

The cover of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ was a particularly excellent touch to an all-too-brief set, and proved that as artistically driven as they are, they don’t take themselves too seriously. Fantastic stuff, to round off another great COG night.

But alas, it appears that the only time we appreciate the abnormal is in music. People can’t accept unusual behaviour in day-to-day activities. Take my friend who works as a court usher. He was fired – actually fired – for masturbating in court. Ridiculous. It’s almost like they’re saying it’s his fault the autopsy video was sexy. When will our minds open? Until next time,

Muhammad Odeh

*- An attempt for the record of longest intro to any gig review ever

**- He shoots, he scores (and the Timbuktu thing is bollocks, of course. And probably a little xenophobic.)