Sunday best for rising new bands (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Sunday best for rising new bands

8:47am Friday 27th March 2009

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SUNDAYS will never be the same again after this stunning Bang Bar show.

The proceedings were opened up by fairly new young Basingstoke Emo band Alexia. They have played a handful of shows outside town, but this was their first Basingstoke show and they had a number of friends and relatives swelling the crowd.

They performed well and I can see the confidence growing. I am looking forward to hearing some recorded material.

Next up from Andover were Sniper. They could be labelled a punk band but that would not do them justice, since they are much more besides.

They are a really tight outfit, with mixed genre roots, reflected in the way they play their material.It is fast and powerful, with no-nonsense vocals and take-no-prisoners riffs and rhythms, but they throw in other little tricks to really spice things up and went down a storm.

Not an easy act to follow for Basingstoke's Mary Kelly band who were up next, but they exploded into an intense performance with heads held high. They had a frontline of dedicated fans to cheer them on and can be satisfied with themselves.

They were followed by Tadley’s Black Heart Orchestra, who have now added a third guitarist to really beef up their wall of sound. By now, the mass of people at the front saw the band and fans partially intermingled. They played a blinding set and having seen them a few times now, I am becoming more familiar with their material.

Pride of place went to Kicked In, the fairly new Basingstoke old school punk band which has very quickly become a ‘must see’ band.

With everyone psyched up, it wasn't difficult for the lads to boost it more with their catchy 'air-punching' numbers. Already a lot of people are singing along with them and they haven't yet put out a demo.

Neil Duncan ISSUEPUNKZINE

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