Baby Godzilla + Zoax + Sexwolf! + Swamp Donkey @ The Oobleck, 1st December 2014
If you ever find yourself in a room where Baby Godzilla are performing, you can only assume one thing… anything could happen! Tonight on a chilly December’s evening inside The Custard Factory, the Nottingham-based foursome have brought a suitable chaotic line-up of bands along to do their best to warm things up a little.
Unfortunately arriving too late to check out Swamp Donkey, I’m welcomed by the site of Tamworth’s own Sexwolf! having what seems like enormous fun as vocalist Richard Phillips prowls the room while his bandmates lay down what they describe as “one big steaming pile of big riffs and intensity”. That description actually sums them up nicely but they also have a natural knack of putting a smile on your face as they do it.
Formed little over a year ago, Zoax have been building a healthy reputation throughout 2014, including a raucous performance at Download Festival, and tonight they ably bring some organised chaos to the room. Bow-tied frontman Adam Carroll could not be more charismatic or entertaining, getting into the faces of almost everyone in the crowd as he screams out his lyrics. Tracks like Bitter.Angry.Fake prove they have substance behind the bravado too, and once they get to release a full album, there’ll be no stopping them.
Baby Godzilla have not stopped playing live this year. Festivals, support slots and a fair few headline gigs have seen their reputation as a live phenomenon spread like wildfire and it’s thoroughly deserved. The management at The Oobleck have also heard of this reputation and simply request that the band try not to damage the Christmas decorations that they’ve just finished putting up all over the room. Like a red flag to a bull…
Within minutes of their opening chords, half the band are out amongst the crowd, dragging speakers into the middle of the room, climbing the bar and anything else they can find, all the while hammering out their scrappy hardcore in fine style. It’s not long before frontman Matt Reynolds is up on the beams above the crowd’s heads, Christmas decorations unravelling around him! Oops!
Musically it’s appropriately messy too but the perfect soundtrack to the chaos happening on and off the stage. A good chunk of the audience singalong to the likes of Powerboat Disaster and The Great Hardcore Swindle, both of which are far more complex in their arrangements than they first appear, with the latter inspiring comparisons to the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan or The Chariot.
The next victim of the proceedings is The Oobleck’s newly decorated Christmas tree which topples along with Reynolds onto the merch stand before the frontman begins chomping on the branches. Their rowdiness can occasionally spill over into something a little unnerving but it’s all done in the name of fun and removing any divides between musicians and crowd.
The set is all too short but nobody goes home anything less than invigorated for seeing some of the best live music currently doing the rounds in the UK. The band end their set, thanking everyone and are quick to begin repairing any damage they caused. Godzilla was never so thoughtful.
Review and photographs – Steve Gerrard