REVIEW: Live music at The Great Western (From Basingstoke Gazette)

REVIEW: Live music at The Great Western

10:12am Friday 16th May 2008

• Print
• Email
• Share

IT was a hot muggy evening that saw a moderate crowd gather at the Great Western for a bit of a mixed genre night.

Things kicked off in a mellow way with an acoustic act, which went by the name of Owl Gene. Not bad, and popular with some sections of the crowd, but I find that guy plus guitar equals Billy Bragg syndrome - perhaps I'm just very hard to please or I am a card-carrying philistine.

Next up were the first band, who were called Salt Slide and who had come down from London. They seemed a little apologetic about their hard-rock style before they started, but in reality they had nothing to be ashamed of. It was fast, it was energetic and the sound quality was great. Very enjoyable.

The headline band, being punk in style, were almost certain to be my favourites of the night. They were called The Guzzards and had come all the way from Norwich. They did so much better than my expectations! They were a real joy to watch and listen to. Really tight musically, sitting somewhere between pop-punk and melodic hardcore, with some great lyrics on a whole host of off-the-wall subjects.

Most importantly of all, they had a great line in audience engagement - I came away vowing to see them again as soon as I get the chance.

- Neil Duncan, Issuepunkzine

• Print
• Email
• Share