Martyr de Mona - Scruffy Murphy's - Friday 8th August 2008

Call me an incureable romantic but what better way to spend your fourth wedding anniversary than at a gig?? Before the torrent of abuse, the good lady suggested this one (although I was hankering after seeing Hostile / Adust / I Hate You More / Terrorform at the Asylum, so I'll keep quiet!!).

Shotdeadinvegas took to the stage first and thanks to Alex for the setlist. This was the gig equivalent of the old football cliche a game of two halves. Took them two or three songs to get going, during which the drummer looked distinctly uneasy, vocalist/frontman wasn't really throwing himself into it and the rhythm guitarist's facial contortions whilst taking on his backing vocal duties were surreal to put it mildly. Then something clicked and the end of the set was far better, tighter as a band and more dynamic. Style-wise they are in the nu-punk/metalcore area although there are a lot of different influences exhibited in their overall sound. Speaking of sound I would suggest your rhythm guitarist has a tinker with his cab head, or gets the soundman to take him up a lot higher in the mix, the lead player had an immensely chunky guitar tone in comparison. Setlist tonight was Patience Will Kill Me, Fighting For A Cause, Who Am I To Decide?, For Old Times Sake, Don't Look Down and Butterflies. The second half of their performance saved them and overall they are more than worth seeing again. Having said that they are a young band who will benefit from having more gigs under their belt. I'll keep an eye on your gig schedule fellas...

It's unusual for the good lady to have seen a rock band more times than me, but this was the third time the jolly woman had seen The Lowlifes in the last couple of weeks. On the evidence of my first viewing of the band I can understand why the better half has been raving on about them. No frills, good old fashioned honest take no prisoners rock, played with style and humour is about as close to summing them up as I can get. If I was forced to pigeonhole their overall sound I'd sum them up as classic rock/metal delivered with a modern aggressive twist. Lead and backing vocals are clean, guitar work is furious with plenty of soloing and the rhythm section is as solid as a rock. They have a quietly confident stage presence and played an absolute cracker of a set. Recent EP featured heavily (understandably) with Lover, Attitude, Lady Whisky, Alone, No, Burn and Back To The Heavy all being delivered clinically well. Affable guys with the right attitude, I can see me attending a few of their gigs in the not too distant future. Hugely enjoyable and wholeheartedly recommended, catch up with you soon fellas!!

Martyr de Mona impressed me when I saw them blow AFD Shift off stage at the Barfly recently. A lot of bands would have genuinely struggled to follow The Lowlifes but not these guys. Focussed from the word go this was another superb performance from them. Before launching into the review, a thank you to the band for the warmth of your collective welcome and for the lengthy chats at the start of the evening. This was a polished and dynamic display. Played a similar set to the one aired at the Barfly although they also included two well played, and received, covers. Five originals started things off; Eva, Am I Sorry(?), Closure, Divide Et Impera and Mind Ruined Bodies were all stunning. Godsmack's Moon Baby preceded As I Drown and In Our Defence. Motorhead's Ace of Spades was a late addition and worked well before Dementia wrapped things up. This was an assured performance . They have good stage presence, write and perform fine songs, and have the collective musical ability to back it up. Deserve to be huge.

Another sauna-like evening at Scruffy's. Shotdeadinvegas started hesitantly but recovered well. The Lowlifes hit the stage running and played a stormer. As did Martyr de Mona who continue to impress. Another entertaining evening of rock and roll mayhem!