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                             REVIEWS 
                                       Album,LP,CD reviews

  Gigs/Shows                                                             Festivals
 7 Seconds -  London 2004                                                Rhythms Of The World 2001
 5678s - Hitchin 2004                                                       ROTW 2004

                                                                                 ROTW 2005
 
 

 

       *****           ****       ***           **                         *                            no star
  mind blowing     excellent      good      adequate(for fans)      fair(some potential)           abysmal - avoid


 
 
Rhythms Of The World is the only UK music festival which takes place in a town centre-in this case the historical market town of Hitchin.The location within a bustling town centre is what makes the festival unique.Where else do you find elderly Sikh ladies and gentlemen and hardcore punk rockers both enjoying a Mongolian heavy metal band?

 

Rhythms Of The World  2005   -     Hitchin  July 2005 ***** 

Last years 2004 ROTW was the most enjoyable music festival  experience I've had in 23 years  ( including several times at Glastonbury,Stonehenge etc).It was not easy but this year was just as good-but only just.Days before  ROTW 52 people tragically died in the 7th July London bombings.This did not deter people from attending this crowded public event and celebrating life,diversity and unity.10 stages 800 performers over 2 days and yet again the sun smiled on Hitchin.
Highlights were an exhilarating Saturday night performance by ZION TRAIN to a packed crowd on the Portmill Lane Stage.The fast upbeat dub/house music was far more exciting than Zion Trains' cds and the enthusiastic audience loved it.NIC TURNER'S GALAKTICOS on the Market Square stage was a revelation.Uplifting and tuneful jazz/punk of the kind he played in his hippy days with Hawkwind.20 DEAD CAMELS have played ROTW several times and their rousing ska always goes down well.Possibly the heaviest music all weekend was relegated to the Town Hall on Sunday afternoon from 4 kids and 1 ageing hippy known as THE OTTERS .The abysmal unatmospheric lighting and dim venue did them no favours but they played a grating,intense set.

The sight of unpaid and exhausted volunteers collecting litter while burger vans made small fortunes  gave me pause for thought.With 40,000 people attending this year I hope ROTW can stay true to its guiding principles. I guess thats down to us - the audience.


7 SECONDS  *** Camden Underworld- London - May 2004 

These days there are very few bands I will travel to see. For 17 years the sheer energy and attitude of the LP 'The Crew' sustained me and for 17 years I waited to see 7 SECONDS play those songs live.In 2004 they finally made it over from the US-better late than never 'though it would have been nice to see them when they were part of the fresh underground phenomenon that was early 1980s hardcore. 
With a large group of kids outside the venue dressed like stereotype cartoon punks things did not look promising.Once inside the audience was thankfully a lot more mixed.7 SECONDS come from an era(early 80s) when punk/hardcore meant more than just a form of music.Times have changed,subversive ideas & attitudes have become mainstream and the hardcore audience from those days is mostly gone.Still,it was great to hear live the positive,uplifting singalong,superfast  blasts of pounding hardcore punk that is 7 Seconds.Nothing unexpected,all the best songs were sung to the packed venue(the only low point being the abysmal 99 Red Balloons)-straight-forward entertainment with an inspiring message.Considering they have been playing live for over 20 years the energy and enthusiasm of Kevin and co was surprising.7 Seconds enjoyed themselves as did the crowd.Good gig. 

Rob

 
 


 


Rhythms Of The World  2004   -     Hitchin  July 2004 ***** 

2004 will be remembered by many as the year that ROTW triumphed.8 stages,140 bands  plus 3 additional fringe event stages at local pubs featuring another 40 assorted punk,indie,metal bands.There was so much going on that without a programme I would have missed the best acts.Luckily,I didn't miss The New Town Centres **** at The Phoenix - 5 men in matching suits and black hair playing fast psychedelic pop songs.Open air live music during the day is rarely exciting,but to be honest they blew me away - try and catch this band next time they play.Immediately after that was TheOtters ***** at Club 85.The Otters are basically a heavy punk version of The Astronauts with a different line-up apart from Mark Astronaut on vocals.Unlike The Astronauts lacklustre ROTW 2002 appearance the energy of the young band combined with Mark's excellent melodic songs meant a blistering,mesmirising performance. 
Next up was NOT! a Czech band playing hardcore grind of the sort once popular in the mid 80s.Not my cup of tea but they got a deservedly good reception (they came over from Czech Republic for this) 
Much of the music on the World Music stages was too mellow for me but highlights included the tranquil harmonies of Marsada *** from Sumatra,Indonesia.Performing in traditional dress their soothing rhythms were relaxing but not boring.More lively were the           Matzo Boys **** playing fast & vibrant  toe-tapping jewish music with fiddles & violins etc and the folk rock of 3 Daft Monkeys *** .Popular local reggae heroes Lionheart took so long tuning up that I didn't stay to watch them(too much other stuff to see). 

It will be hard for the organisers to improve on ROTW 2004 as it could not get much better. For a number of reasons this was the best festival I have been to(& that does include several times at Glastonbury etc)and it achieved its objective of the most diverse audience possible.Well done to all involved.

 


 


5678s ***** /  SLAMMERS *  Hitchin Football Club 2004 

Cult Japanese garage punk band plays the bar at Hitchin Football Club? This was too unexpected and exciting to miss and tickets quickly sold out.I had wanted to see local garage trash outfit  SLAMMERS for a couple of years and this was not the best introduction.They suffered from a poor PA mix with the bass & guitars struggling to be heard against the vocals.There sounded like a few decent songs beneath the muddy sound - I'll check them out again. 
The 5678s had the same problem for their 1st song but insisted the PA mix be sorted out.Once it was the capacity audience experienced  a phenomenon. 
It was an appearance and song in the film Kill Bill which gave the 5678s worldwide semi-fame but they must have spent years perfecting their sound.As far as garage rock goes this was raw pounding punk rock'n'roll at its primeval best.The couple of slower 60s style songs were pleasant enough but it was the bulk of fast heavy rockabilly  numbers in a small packed venue that made this the most enjoyable band I have seen for years.The 5678s received a rapturous response and seemed to enjoy the enthusiasm of the crowd.Excellent.

 
 
 

Rhythms Of The World Festival 2002 - Hitchin 
review coming soon 

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