Boom Chugga OH OH!
On a beautiful September evening you find me queueing up for my first gig in a capacity room after lockdown, excited, nervous and all manner of emotions surging through my body. A healthy crowd showed up for tonight’s offering and first up were a band I haven’t heard of. Excuse me while I hide in the box of shame for a few minutes.
Defences come to us from Hertfordshire and present as vocalist Cherry Duesbury, screamer – William Young, guitarist – Calum Wilmot, bassist – Ian Harrington and drummer Kyle Park, a quintet of raucous alternative rock to sizzle and sway to. My god do I love a growler; in fact, all four bands were quite adept in the growling stakes, so definitely a plus point. Here to showcase their upcoming album ‘In The Balance’ they wasted no time in ripping the place apart. A small but perfectly formed pit emanated and we all warmed ourselves beside it, grateful of the companionship and familiarity it gave us. Impressed by our efforts, the band played on, energised by the audience, I didn’t get a setlist, so I don’t have song titles for you but I thoroughly enjoyed every second, the flow of music bursting through, invigorating and just sheer bliss.
Next up it was the turn of the boombastic chuggas aka Chuggaboom, the masked invaders, resplendent in Scream/ Phantom Of The Opera facial attire, it’s all good in this brotherhood, just take a gander at those Technicolour trainers, oh my! With pertinent and in your face lyrics a la Goldie Looking Chain – remember them? – this is a ball busting, riotous, rollicking ride out of this hell we are in. With exotic names like Levi Taurus, they provide the boom boom in this room.
They finished their set with a glorious rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and we all joined in with gusto, exalted and spirited, bonkers but brilliant.
The utterly superb THECITYISOURS take over and continue to shred our bodies into the next century, even a Chugga joined in, bouncing and trouncing along with all of us. A set that featured ‘Low’, ‘Casket’ and ‘Don’t Wait For Me’ from the last album, the new one, called ‘Coma’ is on its way, it was a night to relay our feelings back to the bands as we sang with them, all the lyrics we had learned during lockdown. Such a thrilling set my friends, the enjoyment was palpable, and you could reach out and touch it. With riffage that sweeps you into its arms and cradles you, make no mistake, this is a genius line up.
The headliners Our Hollow, Our Home leapt onto the now incandescent stage, to grab hold of the crowd and continue the unrelenting assault on the senses. This tour was to support the latest album and throw in a few favourites, to keep us busy. Connor Hallisey is a joy to watch, engaging and focused at all times. The crowd tonight was enthusiastic and appreciative as were the bands, developing our own chant to inspire the group and spur them on. If you are ‘Hartsick’ and long for ‘Better Daze’ then ‘Remember Me’ and together we will face the ‘Wraiths’ and watch it all ‘Burn In The Flood’.
It was obvious that the fans had missed live shows, but this was also true of the artists, up onstage giving it their all, criss-crossing all the way with their jumping and jiving and vying for our attention. It is the way forward for shows, still early days but great to see fans out supporting the bands that have managed to get on a tour.
Defending the city and our home, it’s a chugg life!