Black Dogs / BEAR / Employed To Serve / Victorian Whore Dogs [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 7/7/14]
Nothing gets you in the mood for a metal gig quite as effectively as car trouble. When reviewing gigs, you want to be like Mel Gibson’s character in We Were Soldiers – first to enter, and last to leave. For this show, I was not that.
Unfortunately I missed Victorian Whore Dogs (what a name!) and Employed To Serve entirely. Shit. Send any complaints for this omission to ibreakcarssomusicwriterscantgettogigsontime@shittymechanics.com, and be sure to check out VWD and ETS via the list of links below.
BEAR
I caught BEAR’s final three songs – and they were absolutely amazing. BEAR are a djent-ridden Belgian Dillinger Escape Plan intent on making sure their instruments barely survive the equipment-wrecking end of their set, and they’re heavier than trying to read A Brief History Of Time after staying awake for 72 hours.
Yes.
Black Dogs
As a music writer, I usually use my phone to make notes during bands’ sets. When Black Dogs played, I forgot. These guys know how to keep your attention firmly focussed on them to the point where you forget where you are – or what happened before you got to the show. This was what I was hoping for; and Black Dogs delivered in spades.
Cheers guys!
Hardcore isn’t usually my thing, but as with Palm Reader and Baby Godzilla, you just have to respect how much energy Black Dogs put into their performance. Their set ended with one guitarist on the floor, soaked in sweat, and consisted of fucktons of tightly-controlled chaos. Again, hardcore isn’t my thing; but I could happily go and watch Black Dogs all over again.
Big love to the Boileroom crew for a great show (what I saw of it, anyway), and Olly Dexter on his millionth incredible sound job.
No love and many angry words to the incompetent mechanic who broke my car – while servicing it.
Links
Black Dogs on Facebook and Twitter.
Employed To Serve on Facebook and Twitter.
Victorian Whore Dogs on Facebook and Twitter.
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