Gig review - The Hijacks / Cobra Kai / Daffy D @ Cellar 35 - 24-Jun-2010

GFN Promotions

Reviewed by Lucius / Lucky

Lucius:
Technically this is only half of a gig review as I left after the second band because I'm shit. This was my first encounter with Cellar 35 and I was a little disturbed by just how small it was when I ventured downstairs. Knowing what was coming up I really didn't know how it was going to turn out. While chatting beforehand I had been rendered deaf by the barman putting on some tunes from a laptop, how the hell were my eardrums going to cope with the bands to follow?

First up was Daffy D. All I knew was that it was an acoustic solo set. First impressions were worrying. I always get a little scared when I'm in a room with someone strapping something on and here he was attaching a tambourine to his leg. Images of Dick Van Dyke were scurrying through my brain.

(I should mention at this point that I honestly think I was the only paying punter in the venue at this point, as everyone else seemed to be with a band.)

So Daffy D starts up and instantly I'm impressed. Great rapport with the crowd and genuinely good fun tunes. Although his insistence on trying to get us to sing along became a bit annoying as his choruses tended to be on the ridiculously fast side and were difficult to make out. The first part of audience participation was confusing. We had to shout out at the end if we thought the circumstances explained in the song were wrong or right. I listened intently to find a song bereft of lyrics. Well it had lyrics, but I had expected a story but instead was left disappointed. Oh and it was wrong by the way. Something about going to the gym with juice on your chin?

Daffy D finished off by getting audience members to play certain instruments (maraca type things, an African horn thing, coconuts and a squeaky horn). An interesting performance and I can honestly say that if I see his name on a poster again I would definitely see him again. Not someone you're going to see in a place like The Moorings but perfect for venues like Cellar35.

Verdict - ***and a half.
(He lost points coz he was giving out weird badges and telling people he was giving them to everyone so they wouldn't feel left out. And I didn't get one!)

Next up Cobra Kai, with dynamic frontman Lucky Rathen. Recognise the name? Yeah, he runs Aberzine. Will this be an unbiased review? Will I ever be allowed to write for Aberzine again? We shall see.

First up a 4 minute instrumental because they are “pretentious wankers”. Didn't this used to be a 7 minute instrumental? Anyway it's still a great opener. Sounds heavily influenced by Muse but I may be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. Shameless plugs for the new album, follow oh and plenty of the second EP, Some Thoughts Concerning Education are still available (possibly from OneUp, or see Lucky).

April Showers (great Bass work by Dr. Ron) and Bucket of Blood are up next. BoB has been going round my head for a week now and this helped to get it stuck in there further. Damn you Cobra Kai!!!

Lucky has a weird turn now and he starts singing some funk thing he can’t remember the name of. Turns out it was by Kanye West. He announced this during the intro of their next song. Anyone walking in at that point would have thought it was the weirdest cover version ever!

I forget what comes next as I have a terrible memory and usually I keep notes but I didn't know I was supposed to review the gig until this morning. Second last song is Sins Of The Flesh. This appears on their first EP, “The Perfect Plan” and is the first song written by Cobra Kai. This is usually a high point in the set but unfortunately the sound starts going weird. No sound guy to be seen and there is a buzzing and clicking noise. I think the sound guy was the dude in the red shirt but he seemed drunk. Oh well, just a slight glitch and at least it came close to the end and not right at the start.

Last tune and a little bit of audience participation here too. Not handing out of instruments like Daffy D, but instead the public can vote on what the last song will be. 3 choices, King Of The World, Pretty Little Angel Eyes (Lucky copying Zombina And The Skeletones!) or Call Me The Phantom. Phantom wins! This is great news for me as I love this mash up of Iron Maiden and Blondie. Not good news for Lucky as I know he wants to stop playing it! Tough shit Junior! LOL

Verdict - ****

Unusual setting for The Kai a little too cramped maybe, some sound issues, looking forward to the album release!

Some great crowd interaction tonight from CK and Daffy D. As mentioned there were 2 bands that came after this but I'm a lightweight and buggered off home.

Lucky: Well I guess I better take over from here.

The Hijacks are a 6-piece ska-punk band much in the vein of Less Than Jake. In fact there’s very little ska involved, it’s mostly just punk, but with brass. Their songs are pretty uniform, anthemic major-key punk rock played at breakneck speed. I can hear more than a touch of Rancid in their sound as well. By now the fairly sparse crowd in Cellar 35 has thinned even more, and only a handful of punters remain, but in the way that makes the Cellar that bit special, what’s left of the crowd line-up down at the front of the stage area, whooping and cheering and jumping around. All except me, who was struggling with recurrence of a neck injury, and was forced to sit at the back – not the best atmosphere for enjoying a lovely bit of ska.

Having never heard any the Hijacks before I can’t really pick out any song in particular as a favourite as I don’t know the names of any of them (though I could write a full review and just say “the crowd went wild when they played hits such as” and then just name some tracks off their MySpace, like the Evening Express do when touring bands come to the Music Hall). However on the whole I can say without doubt that they are a fun, exciting live band, full of energy and guaranteed to get you out of your seat (unless you’ve got a sore neck). The musicianship might have been slightly questionable at times, but that may have been down to the lack of a soundcheck for such a big band. Anyone, I’m not in a much of a position to criticise, I forgot how to play one our songs halfway through the fucker.

There’s a certain type of joy that only a good ska band can bring, the kind that makes you want to smile and dance around, no matter how shitty your day has been. The Hijacks definitely have that. If you like a bit of brass with your punk then go check these guys out on the 21st July at The Tunnels.

*** and a half.

www.myspace.com/itsdaffyd
www.myspace.com/cobrakairock
www.myspace.com/hijacksska