What. A. Line. Up. I begged for this gig because I really wanted to see PABH. I'd even bought one of their t shirts, though I didn't wear it on the night because it would have comfortably accommodated me and about three other people. Damn crazy t shirt sizes.
Previously published on mintsouth.com in May 09
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mintsouth
ROLO TOMASSI, GRAMMATICS + PULLED APART BY HORSES @ SOUTHAMPTON JOINERS 02/05/2009
You have to expect the unexpected with Rolo Tomassi, that’s all I can say. The nice sounding name reminds me of sweets and treacle, though the band is actually named after a character from LA Confidential. However if you come to one of their gigs expecting sweet confectionary, you’re certainly in for a rude awakening.
First onstage were Pulled Apart By Horses, the band I was most looking forward to tonight. I have something of a soft spot for the Leeds scene, and PABH’s singles promised raw and brash tunage. The very first note set the whole floor quivering and the band emerged from beneath their hair to provide incendiary rock. Singer Tom Hudson, clad in a bright yellow shirt, takes the mic and calmly plants it in the middle of the venue, splitting the crowd in two. Guitarist James Brown does a musical Spiderman onto the ledge in the corner and later mouths ‘I love you’ at one of Rolo Tomassi, who come to the rescue when the bass suffers technical difficulties.
Songs tonight include ‘Meat Balloon’, ‘The Crapsons’, ‘I Punched A Lion In The Throat’ and ‘High Five Swan Dive Nose Dive’. If that’s sounding a bit heavy, the band also throw in a smattering of high fives for everyone and offer their favourite Sonic The Hedgehog cheats.
The final song sees the lads in the crowd swarm straight for Hudson, smothering him and his guitar in a bear hug. As the band say tongue-in-cheek in ‘Meat Balloon’, it was awesome, radical, and totally bodacious. Dude.
It was something of a nice breather to have Grammatics back at the Joiners and sandwiched between the two loudest acts. Also from Leeds, singer Owen Brinley, wearing a necklace made from shells, announced the band had “missed like five hours of Come Dine With Me tonight, so count yourselves fucking lucky” they’re here. Emilia Ergin’s powerful cello can leave an audience spellbound and silent and the band’s quirky, jump nature is an enjoyable break from the ear-bashing.
The band was here recently supporting Red Light Company and judging from the number in the crowd singing along to their album tracks, they were definitely worth coming back for. Grammatics have a cool and melodramatic touch to them, but they certainly punked up the last few minutes of their set. Songs tonight included ‘The Vague Archive’, ‘D.I.L.E.M.M.A’ and ‘Shadow Committee’.
After a short break for the onstage changeover, Rolo Tomassi introduced themselves with expectant stares and some feedback that was at exactly the right frequency to melt the wax from your ears. Formed in Sheffield in 2005, Rolo Tomassi have gone on to develop a reputation for powerful live shows, which won them a spot at last year’s Download. They also stopped off at SXSW a few months ago.
The band is fronted by the attractive demon that is Eva Spence, a wide-eyed and charming love who looks peaceful but is quite clearly possessed by something evil. When she opens her mouth you are never quite sure if you will be greeting by sweet and soft tones, or a throaty roar of fire, a la Arch Enemy’s Angela Gossow.
The tunes are unpredictable in places, switching between what sound slightly like jazz lullabies and thrash synth metal. The setlist tonight included ‘Film Noir’, ‘Seagull’, ‘Abraxus’, ‘Oh, Hello Ghost’ and ‘I Love Turbulence’. At the end of ‘Curby’ the bassist is crowdsurfing, the guys in the mosh pit look knackered and there is a sharp odour of sweat in the air. “What a band!” yells one bloke. “What. A. Fucking. Band.” The devil certainly has the best tunes; and the loudest.
http://www.pulledapartbyhorses.com
http://www.grammatics.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/rolotomassi
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