Baby Godzilla live at The Bodega - Photo by Carla Mundy
What a night for people who like their music loud and heavy. A four-part thriller of a show featuring two of Nottingham's finest (and heaviest) as well as Cardiff boys Exit_International and Shields.
Shields open the show triumphantly with their epic battle-cry rock. Imagine the Spartan Army's Christmas party and this lot would be playing. Fist-in-the-air Medieval styled noises that seems to be a rallying cry to the crowd of The Bodega to brace themselves for a destructive gig.
Sure enough the level of destructiveness is winched up a notch or 3 as Widows start blaring out their ridiculously loud thumping stoner rock. The desert style of Queens of The Stone Age with the fast head-banging vibe of bands like Kyuss and Soil is a perfect mix for anyone who wants to go a wee bit mental. The sound is like being aboard that evil looking train in Golden Eye. It's terrifyingly fast, indescribably powerful, and there is an over-whelming sense of doom. Goat Lab has even the bar-staff headbanging away as The Bodega shakes to the sound of the some brutal riffage and husky screams. If you haven’t discovered this lot yet then get on it.
Welsh boys Exit International are a freaky funk shriek-rock fiesta of a band. With a name that derives from a voluntary euthanasia/assisted suicide organisation you can expect to experience something a little bit fucked up. Clever and dark vocal interchanges dart around from sinister whisperings to throat ravishing screams giving everything an air of awesome unpredictability. This bass heavy 3 piece create an unashamed sleazy wall-of-noise doesn't take itself too seriously but is actually seriously good. The evil grooviness of proceedings is nastily cool and has more testostorone than a bucket of moose bollocks. Go see 'em.
Baby Godzilla live at The Bodega - Photo by Carla Mundy
Baby Godzilla have become notorious for their skull-smashing live shows in recent times and with The Bodega as rammed as Alan Carr in a prison riot the scene was set for some zilla-carnage.
At first glance The Bodega seems to be Baby Godzilla proofed. A slightly raised stage with a wall of amps, how are they going to scythe through the crowd in their trademark fashion? No problem. Opening with the savage shrieks of At The Oche, immediately the amps are all over the floor as Jonny and Matt slice through the crowd wielding their guitars like possessed mad axemen. The mosh pits open up all over the shop and personal safety is about as secure as a hymen in a St Anns secondary school.
To anyone who happened to stumble across The Bodega who might be unaware about what was taking place upstairs, they would be forgiven for thinking it might be a rage in the cage style wrestling match as opposed to a gig. During the riff beast of a song Dave Lankester, the actual Dave Lankester (formerly of Hot Japanese Girl and now part of Awesome Sex) is raised high above the crowd and thrown around like a rag doll. At one point Matt is teetering high above the bar with the spotlight on him like a crazed criminal in the headlights of a police helicopter.
The trouble with Baby Godzilla gigs is the constant battle in the brain between never wanting the gig to end due to the sheer explosive joy and with begging that the gig would end because of the amount of energy that is squeezed out of every soul in the room. “This is the our last song, and its a new one,” Jonny announces from centre stage, “Nobody in the room will have heard this one before. It is a very important song for us.” The tone of Jonny 's voice and the sinister glint in his eyes suggests that everybody needs to brace themselves. Sure enough the next 16 minutes or so are a frantic fight for survival amidst the ear-splitting riffs that seem to reach an impossible new level of thundering loudness. The 3 part death roller coaster of a song is called See The Old Lady Decently, Buried Although, Amongst Those Left Are You. I reckon it's their best yet.
Baby Godzilla, Exit International, Widows and Shields played at The Bodega on Thursday 27 September 2012.
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