Live Review

Distraction Weekender, Day Two – The Cluny, Newcastle

• 13th Aug 2008

Day two of distraction saw nine bands hit the stage in a mixture of indie rock and electro goodness which had a side of heavy metal for good measure. Headlining today’s event was The Week That Was who where supported by Nathalie Stern, The Big Oaks, The Black Static of Summer, B>E>A>K, BluntWoundTrauma, Warm Digits, Wroooaar and Moira Stewart.

Nathalie Stern eased us into the days events with some gentle ambient tunes making use of sound loops created by her guitar, voice and some bells. Her set was very relaxing and I enjoyed it.

The Big Oaks are a band that are either being ironically crap or are just actually crap and should give up. Not even the flyer for the event was positive about them, their set was all over the place with people missing cues and their comedy rock being on the same level as laughing at Bin Laden in a dress. In my note pad I wrote “AHHHH” and then helped the barmaid do a crossword. Lucky for them their friends were there to cheer for them.

The Black Static of Summer picked up the pieces from the previous band and played a great set (but then anything would have been better then the last act). They have some powerful rock tunes which are well worth a listen.

B>E>A>K are a band with an acute obsession with ornithology which is a gimmick they flaunt as much as possible, their set consisted of a lot of energy and powerful lyric-less rock ballads that featured a trumpet.

BluntWoundTrauma were the heaviest of the day’s line up with some heavy metal screamo action directed at a mainly indie crowd. The visuals were intended to feature death, blood, guts and anything else to make you sick however once the clips went from the visual platform to the background they ended up looking quite nice and pleasant. I thought these guys were great, if you’re into heavier music then check them out.

Warm Digits saw the guy from Matinee Orchestra on drums while accompanied by someone else control the sound levels and working the guitar. The melodic sound was a lot better then the previous day and the tunes were solid with a guitarist that moves about and makes more of a show.

Wroooaar is an electro chip-tuner with the essential hardcore feel with songs that effortlessly fit together. She also had the best visuals going on behind her as the team played some classic SNES Mario behind her as well as putting in clips from the Mario Brothers cartoon.

Moira Stewart put on a great show, throwing balloons and glitter into the crowd while playing as well as managing a full length crowd surf. They play a selection of upbeat enjoyable indie tunes with an electro flavor while the keyboardist displays some funky dance moves. ‘In The Kitchen’ sounds great live with the vocalist sounding a lot more mellow in a good way.

Once again I had to leave due to relying on public transport, sadly because some bands had overrun I didn’t get to see The Week That Was at all but I imagine they were really, really, really good live.

Photo by Nicholas Gray