It’s that time of the month again and this time a seasonal shindig hit the Barn complete with a night put on by Zeton Spore in the front bar, making for an eclectic mix of individuals and a great way to see out the last punk gig of the year.
Considering opening act Skurvi formed from an add claiming to be “an awful singer and ok bassist” frontman Jimmy the Jip was a great vocalist, well written lyrics and songs you could easily jump around to whilst still having something worthwhile to say in “Daily Hate Mail” and a sing along catchiness in “We’re the Brits on Holiday”.
Having been on the road as Boy George’s support for his 2013 tour, the Featherz are as much about their association with fashion label “Charles of London” as they are the music with Danie Cox looking like a female Ziggy Stardust. There was definitely a bit of glam about this three piece, but they were still a little rough around the edges at the start of their set before coming good with their last couple of songs, complete with an impromptu encore.
Sussex based Atombuzz have been around for a while and have probably drunk a lot of beers together, which has been a big influence to their take on the punk world as they sing great punk songs about drinking beer… With the speed drumming there’s a metal element to Atombuzz and the cross over between metal and punk makes them a fun band to listen too, and although charity single “Bi-Polar Christmas” may not be the only festive song this evening it does however have that swaying from side to side feel that seems to be associated with so many Xmas tunes.
Just as Atombuzz finished their set on a couple of more fast and furious punk tunes there was time to sneak into the front bar and catch a glimpse of the acoustic sounds of Violet Sky playing more mellow and chilled out songs that that out back. The front bar was also hosting Zeton Spore performing live with their fantastic didgeridoo infused psychedelic trance, again a contrast to what was to follow in the other room.
So in the Barn it was now time for local act The Exposed to take to the stage, and a welcome home to the lads following being part of the Warped Tour 2013 across on foreign land. The size of their audience this evening may be a lot smaller than that of recent gigs, but The Exposed always perform with much enthusiasm and it comes through in their music which is very much part of the charm.
For tonight’s set-list The Exposed decided to play their new album “Static Armageddon” in full, and why not for it’s a bit of a cracker, with tunes such as “to Those You’ll Ever Know” and “Sleeping’s a Waste of my Youth” already being well received on the live circuit. This also meant they played a few songs that had only been written for the studio release, such as a surprise Simon and Garfunkel cover in “Flowers Never Bend” which despite the bands initial concerns went down well.
It may not have been as busy this evening as most punk nights at the Barn but that didn’t stop headliners The Priscillas being determined to still play their hearts out.
Like The Featherz from earlier The Priscillas are heavily influenced by the glam scene but unlike the aforementioned band Jenny Drag’s four-piece are very polished, great musicians who know how to play their songs well, but at the same time they’re missing the rawness of a live performance in what ended in front of a rather sparse crowd.
Numbers in the back room may have started to drop however as it happened many people had in fact ventured to other parts of the venue and with banging tunes in the front bar it gave an opportunity to unite both dance fans and punks together, in an atmosphere that always makes these evenings at the Barn something special and a great night by all involved.
