23 Rock!

After an another painfully long week in college; handing in two assignments and the research methodology for my dissertation, which is now entitled ‘An investigation into the use of MySpace.com as a PR tool for independent musicians in the Irish music industry‘. I was looking forward to this weekend. Like most Friday nights, I made my way to the Zoo Club, to hear some music, take some photos and let off some steam.

On my way, I meet Gilly (the bassist from Atrax Mantis) and he’s slap-bang in the middle of his latest disaster. This guy really needs his own reality tv show! In this episode Gilly has somehow managed to lock his keys inside his van, he’s tempted to break the window with a hammer but a stranger shows up with a coat hanger and seems quite an expert at breaking into vans!? I leave before they get into the van (or arrested), but not before laughing my ass off and taking some pictures.

Dublin based hardcore metallers 23 are in the Zoo Club with support from Wexford band Cronus. I’ve missed 23 the last times they were in Kilkenny. I’ve heard nothing but good things about them and former Clergy guitarist Barney is in the band, so I’m looking forward to checking them out. When I get there, the Zoo Club is empty!? The bands are there, the doors are open, but there’s no crowd!?

Cronus are up first, as they take to the stage a couple of people come in. I’ve heard of Cronus before. The lead singer was actually one of the “organisers” behind the disasterously unorganised gig in Wexford with Itchy Trigger Finger. The one where I had the shouting match.

The Wexford four-piece get up on stage and pick up their instruments, but they’ve lost their set list!? They find it and blast into their first song which is pretty much like all their songs; way too long and pretty sloppy. They rock out throughout their set, head spins and long hair flying around, but I even get bored of taking photos of them. Their songs are too long, made up of several parts and chunky riffs, but they just don’t pull it off!

The vocals are poor, with really bad mic-technique meaning it’s either muffled or just painful. At one stage he has a rant about something, but I can’t catch a word of it!? The guitars are just noisey and the drummer keeps running out of steam. It’s sloppy. At some stages they even seem bored. But I bet they play killer air guitar!

I stop taking pics to save my battery and stop taking notes to save the paper. I have no shortage of either but my lack of interest is also reflected by the small crowd present; their reaction is like when you ask your mother whether she likes something and she fakes encouragement. Each song is followed by a few claps then complete silence.

23 take to the stage and from the moment the vocalist (Matt) growls into the mic, it’s clear that 23 are going to be a hell of alot better. They erupt into their first song, which is just like the next 11 songs. Their entire set is fast, frantic, chunky and extremely tight. It’s a powerful display of confidence from four guys who sure as hell know what they’re doing.

23’s songs are filled with chunky, catchy riffs and pounding drums. It’s hard to take photos because I keep nodding my head to the riffs and beats. The small crowd love it all. Each song is followed by roars. On stage, 23 are jumping around, dreads are flying everywhere. It’s a pleasure to listen to and shoot this band. The only thing wrong with the whole set is that they deserve to have a huge crowd going completely ape-shit in front of them!

They finish up with “the fast one” which is exactly what the title suggests! After that the small crowd roar for “one more” which 23 happily provide. During ‘Hatred’ they dance around on the stage, having a laugh but the song is still tight. I don’t think I can stress how much of a disgrace it is that people didn’t come and catch 23 in action.

I’m adding 23 to my “Oss237 recommends” list, you can hear some pretty old demo tracks on their myspace profile, but the recordings don’t do the lads justice! Hopefully they’ll be recording again soon, and I really hope they’ll be playing in Kilkenny again soon. If they do then I also hope they get the crowd they deserve, you will not be disappointed!

You can check out my shots of 23 in action, in the KilkennyMusic galleries.