Words by DJ Monk. Photos by The Dark Queen.
Sure, what would you rather be doing on Valentine’s night? Sitting in an over-priced restaurant eating a meal that costs twice as much as on any other evening of the year? Or joined with a bunch of like-minded peeps enjoying one of the most exciting live bands on the circuit making their first ever visit to this wee corner of the Überverse? Yep, you can guess which option your Über crüe plumped for…
First up are Dublin quintet Scathed, also making their first foray north of the border. Things start well, as they display a hardcore punk ethos mixed with metallic undertones, especially on the drums, with Ronan Murphy’s blastbeats driving the sound forward. Their big, power pop choruses and melodies are backed up by crunching riffs and concrete solid rhythms – at least in the first part of the set. However, as they progress, they introduce a denser, grungy, prog-tinged sound, which means that the second half drags – an experience not helped by the fact that Ainsley Kavanagh’s otherwise gritty and powerful vocals are completely drowned in an unsympathetic sound mix.
There’s another negative note sounded during Scathed’s set, and that is when a guy, who has plonked himself right in front of Kavanagh, decides to sucker punch DQ in the ribs while she is taking photographs: of course, he doesn’t trying the same stunt with the two six-foot-plus male photographers covering the show, making it obvious that, despite the headliners’ message of female empowerment and equality for all, there are still some arseholes out there who treat women as objects to be both drooled over and abused. Fortunately, they are very much in the minority!
“I’m the queen of the universe” declares Lauren Tate, stridently and defiantly, as Hands Off Gretel grab the evening’s proceedings in both fists and give them a good-old fashioned punk rock beatdown. The band’s energy level is off the radar, but unfortunately is does not immediately transfer to the audience as, despite a fair promotion of nodding heads, most seem transfixed by the sheer force of nature on the stage in front of them.
HOG’s sound should be familiar to many ÜR readers, as we have championing their cause for several years. Referencing everyone from Nirvana, Hole and L7 to Gwen Stefani and Pink, and even the sugary power pop of Paramore, nothing prepares you for the sheer tidal wave of energy that washes from the stage. Only Becky Baldwin remains slightly static, almost stoical, as she holds down the bottom end, while Sean Bon battles an almost constant wall of feedback.
Of course, the band, and their songs, have their inherent messages, which Tate is subtle in delivering during her spoken interludes. They are messages of self-empowerment. However, unlike many of her contemporaries, they are not pro-feminist or anti-male, but aimed at everyone, helping them to assert their inner power and sense of self-worth. Yes, she does constantly encourage the female members of the audience to “come forward”, but this is meant in a positive way and not aimed at making the men present to step back, but rather for them to stand, proudly, beside the women, and vice versa.
Like many of us, Lauren Tate has a lot to be angry about. But, unlike many, she channels that anger into her music, using it as the vehicle for her emotions, and thus transferring the energy and sense of optimism to her audience. Live, she is a complete bundle of energy unleashed, proving that she is a dynamic and powerful performer who not only deserves to be heard but needs to be, as this evening proved.
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs HERE.
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