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AUDIT

That was a band called Audit, who are a young bunch of blokes who play some enthusiastic nu-metal/ hardcore.  We only caught the last two songs, but that did included the entertaining "What's Up?", which was their closing number and has (I understand), become a bit of an anthem for them.   It tells of the problems that the younger Metal fans in the Hampshire area face with drunken "trendy" yobs picking on them.  The two songs weren't anything like enough to get a real idea of what the band is like, but I

The band due on next was Zero Cipher.  I hadn't seen them live before, although I have actually met Will (Guitar/Vocals) before (and he's a nice geezer) and I'd heard five tracks of tonight's set from their EP.  As a result, I was looking forward to this gig and expectations were set quite high.  I talked with Will before the show and he was slightly nervous but he had enough time to introduce me to Duncan

I left Dunc to his tuning and I thought to myself, "a little fermented liquid will do the trick" so, I curtailed my Zero Ciphering activities, sallied forth, and infiltrated a place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some alcoholic beverages (Ee, Ah woz all thursty-like).  Huh, as if the Harbury Beer Festival (we attended earlier that afternoon on-route to the gig), wasn't enough to suppressed these further compulsions (tish-tish).

Next up was the party favourite "Magic Time" which is one of their oldest songs and has become something that they are now expected to play.  This track illustrates particularly well the use of

There followed more of the songs from their debut EP (The Negative Bleeds Belief) that included "Drag Me Down", "Simon Said" and "The Face I Love To Hate".  It was quite interesting to see the different personalities in the band.  There were determined efforts from both Will and Duncan, sharing equally the vocal and guitar duties and working together very well.  They put in a fine performance and were really giving it some, with sweat pouring from both of them.   Duncan's long hair (which is amazingly quite a rarity in rock these days) becoming increasingly soaked as the gig progressed and Will looking like he's just taken a swim.   100% was given!  There was a more relaxed approach from Mason (Bass) and Ash (Drums), who still produced a tight sound and looked to be enjoying themselves but with a more laid back air about them, particularly Mason who looked well chilled.

Well if what followed next was any gauge then don't play it again for F**Ks sake!!   Some weird goon appeared on stage from nowhere and pull it's trousers down and with either a very small appendage or it tucked away somewhere (or even nothing at all) displayed itself until it was laughed off stage.  Only in Aldershot man!!

There was a short break during which we made a visit to the bar (gosh!) and chatting with a bloke that I met there, discussed the finer points of Rugby Union and the wonderful victory Leicester had over Northampton that day *smile*, this venue was just that sort of a friendly place.

In what only seemed like a few minutes we were greeted by a build-up of feedback through which the dulcet tones of Choff the vocalist from Snub welcomed us to their show.

"We're Snub from Bournemouth.  Bournemouth is a place full of old people, donkeys on the beach and townie ****, so really we don't like Bournemouth.  We dedicate this gig to all the cider drinkers in the house .... we're gonna tear the f**kin place down, this is 'Memories In Richter'."

The drum sound is a important ingredient to the character of this music and Vin Edmonds does not like to disappoint anyone.  His face is often a picture of pure concentration as he guides the song through this particular outing.   A seemingly quiet chap that just likes to get on with it, but gives the occasional smile that lets everyone know he's having a good time.

As the hard and punishing, chunky and powerful cords of "Arson" rage around us, Choff insists that we listen '...burnt to fucking shit, read the writing on the wall, black blood of control, nothing like a fight cause it makes me realise who I am...'.  The

What gets me about this band is that every time I see them they get better and better.  Yeah, they're getting slicker in their performance, but not just that, they are enjoying themselves more and look increasingly relaxed in what they're doing.  The rapport with the crowd becomes more natural and interactive, and I think this kinda breeds a mutual respect.  They're with us on our level and not some unreachable hero's who expects us to swoon at their feet.  And that is the essence of the hardcore scene, blokes from the street performing to kids from the street about issues that effect us!

Between songs, the ever generous Choff treated us to a reading of personal ads from some porno mag (found backstage, someone said it was Will's) giving opportunities to the less fortunate amongst us, which was received by the crowd almost too acceptably!!   There isn't one particular member of the band that makes it work, they are all important and each one would be

You could be forgiven for thinking that someone has upset guitarist Simon Smith. He has a very hard and mean look about him on stage.  It is very common to see him straight faced, deeply absorbed, looking angry and growling at the microphone.  He looks like the music sounds, and the blur of fingers produce a torrent of formidable riffs that demand respect (however, I did manage to get a picture of him laughing!)

The mind-set is further demonstrated with "360 Degree Conviction" and finally with a new song called "Six Deep" which has an enraged demeanour that fits in perfectly!  This band feed off the crowd who feed off the band, and tonight it was a feast of gargantuan proportions.

Rigsby.

Note:  All live pictures of the bands are the property of Rigsby and may only be used with prior permission