30,000Ft / Blag
Week 11 - 28th April 2005
By Sharkey

Brushing the flies and dirt off my clothes I finally return from my long quest for the eternal review, even though I got sidetracked by strange old monks and exotic women ill talk about that later, for now I bring you 30,000Ft and Superstar Pelican.

30,000 Feet - Thirty thousand feet are a five band featuring two guitarist, a bassist, a drummer and a singer. They launched into an apparently improvised jam that seemed quite chilled and relaxed and quickly turned it into a cover of Al Green’s “Ain’t No Sunshine”.

They play a set which consists mostly of covers including Muse’s “Time Is Running Out” and Blink 182’s “Down”. The singer’s voice was quite low for most of the time which got a touch repetitive. But when he was singing in his originals he really stretched out his vocal range a lot more.

Unfortunately there wasn’t much movement or performance from much of the band despite having a very tight performance. Lots of practise put into their musical abilities and songs but not into how they present themselves, singer not really addressing the audience that much other than to present the next song.

Overall their performance was the Indie/Soft Rock sound that pleases many of the impressionable female members of the audience. They did change in sound slightly for one of their original numbers, which was a mix of Placebo and Biffy Clyro, going more into an Emo sound.

The originals got a few members of the crowd up and skanking, even a few standing to watch them at the front. The band managed to get some effort into movement on stage for a few songs at this point but were still mainly engrossed by they’re performance and looking around the stage.

A good band and some nice playing ability but strangely lacking in any attention to anybody but what they are doing on stage.

Blag - Now for some more good ol’ Ska Punk. This band obviously had some local credibility as a few members of the audience were up and skanking when the band started. The five piece band (with the very pink and fluffy bass guitar) put out a set of mostly original songs and one reworked cover.

They’re originals were well constructed and put out a mix of the fun off-beat ska rhythms and well sung and heavy punk parts. The re-worked cover they did was of an old Peter Andre song – Mysterious Girl and made it into a bouncy ska-punk song, much like the reworked covers done by Less Than Jake and NoFX. Taking a cheesy pop song and making a good ska-punk song out of it.

There were some brilliant harmonies in a lot of their songs, really bringing out some of the chorus’s in their original songs. Whilst these are playing there is now quite a huge crowd at the front of the stage, skanking and moshing away.

The singer put out some good tongue rolls normally associated with ska songs which are direly missing in some of the other local ska-punk bands. Also he put out a good energy and vibe as well as the whole band putting into their image as a fun and relaxed band. Although near the end of their set the energy seemed to die down as they got more exhausted but didn’t let back on their song performance and still put a lot of power into the heavier parts of their songs.

To finish it off they played a version of the theme song from Arthur TV show, a fun finally that got the crowd cheering for more.

Well all from me this week, don’t forget that next week is the final of Round 1 with Idle Hands vs Superstar Pelican.

Jo writes:

Arriving sweaty and dishevelled from a tough workout at the gym, I eschewed the bar for a far more comfy viewing spot – betwixt Anya’s thighs, see right – for another night of rockin’ music. And 30,000ft were entertaining enough a prospect: five shiny bouncy young men, all ready to open their hearts to a gaggle of grinning emo kids at the front. The lads tried their darndest, bless ‘em – allowing said kids to scream along into the mic, playing a cluster of very well known danceable cover tunes… and, er, what else? I didn’t spot a single original there, and if one of them ever piped up to mention what was coming next, or even if we were all having a good time, I didn’t hear him. The musicianship was accurate and proficient enough, as was the singing: harmonies really came through and sounded ace, and apart from a few out-of-tune slips on Down by Blink, no major faults to report. Except, really, that there’s nothing new here. What are the boys’ personalities themselves like? How do they want to express themselves to us through music? Wouldn’t know, as it was a polished regurgitation of classics with little variation. Write some songs, chaps, and you’ll be well away.

A Busted jump?! After a White Stripes song – Heh, you’ve got a point, Leighanne

And Blag – I’d heard great things about this bunch from my often-overenthusiastic friends – but for once they were justified. What the members lacked in physical stature they more than made up for in sheer musicality. I’ve never heard anyone of any age on a local stage get the reggae “pick it up” beatbox thingies right; the boy could sing, too, and the songs never strayed out of either his or the other guitar/singer’s vocal range. It’s a common problem that we’ve seen over the weeks, and often the whole performance hinges on how well the singer pulls his part off. Singers represent the band and are the first or perhaps only thing the audience connects with – they’re not called “frontpeople” for nothing!

Moving further back, I want the girl’s daisy bass - and she was pretty hot too, in terms of musical ability. Drums were solid, and there were varieties in sound and tempo of song: I especially enjoyed the reggae element of the set. Many modern ska bands overlook this, the true backbone of the the entire Two-Tone movement.
And even if you detest ska in all its forms, kudos must be given for this most topical of setlists. “Standing On The Shoulders of Townies” takes guts to sing after the week we’ve had, and it gets my vote. A triumph, then, for that rarest of beasts: a band that takes a new twist on an old well-loved genre, and (here’s the key) manages to sound not like everyone else in the comp, or even the scene in general.

Majere writes:

And this is Yarmouth, the town that really shouldn't have eaten that last kebab. It's about 19:30 hours, Greenwich Mean Time, and below the bleeding neons a man in a hat turns to his accomplices and says: "Right, that's it. If she steals the hat tonight, I'm NOT going to mention it in the review..."

30,000ft - Despite slight confusion about where exactly they have come from- the dark jungles of Lowestoft, as it turns out- 30,000ft are certainly not confused when it comes to their musicianship. Their bluesy, clean sound is complemented by another very strong vocal performance and despite tackling some quite daunting material, things rattle along quite nicely.

The confident sound is initially not matched by the body language on stage, the vocalist in particular looking a little nervous and defensive to begin with, but as the set continues and gathers momentum the band visibly gain in confidence. Muse's opus, "Time is Running Out" is the first standout track, a well delivered cover causing the crowd to swell, as well as prompting a curious meerkat-like dance from a trio who will go on to form the centerpiece of a fairly decent crowd. Original track "Gone" shows the great potential to come with some pleasing multi-layered vocals, as the band grow more animated. Though Blink 182's "Down" (a track for which I must confess a strong personal dislike) seems a little off-key here, by this time a happy, bouncing crowd are up for a little audience participation, and one lucky soul is invited on-stage to help out with the vocals.

The frontman shows a good personal touch by making sure to announce the name of this lively individual, as well as that of the apparent leader of the meerkat trio. An ambitious version of the White Stripe's "I just don't know what to do with myself" goes some way to proving just how good the White Stripes are at what they do by needing twice as many musicians to pull it off, but takes off towards the end with a full-on breakdown of the track that generates quite the response. After officially finishing with a solid take on the Chilli Peppers' "Fortune Faded", 30,000ft decide there's time for one more, and add "Peaches" for good measure. Whilst 30,000ft could clearly use some more material of their own, they at least avoid the danger of messing up perfectly good songs. I doubt that this was the most high-scoring of performances, but 30,000ft have certainly shown that they know their way around the stage, their instruments and a crowd. The seeds of a great band have been planted, and this evening should certainly have helped water them.

Majere thinks 30,000ft should cover: "Hysteria" (Muse)

Nothing at all happens. There is most certainly no stealing of hats, whatsoever. Nope.

Blag - Having decided that they can introduce themselves, thank you very much, Blag immediately make it clear that they are a confident and well-drilled outfit. The now almost obligatory backdrop takes center stage, and mention must be made of the female bass player's improbable pink, flower-shaped guitar. With a sizeable crowd already generated simply from the soundcheck, Blag waste no time in launching into opener "Guess Who" at a considerable rate of knots.

Indeed, diction is not a major strongpoint of the frontman, who instead cheerfully machine-guns the audience with a rapid-fire vocal delivery that is as entertaining as it is unintelligible, interspersed by bursts of "oooooh"-ing. The only phrase I was able to make out, in fact, was "you're a w*nker!" which I must confess raised a smile. Having set their ska-punk stall, Blag then confuse the issue by belting through a turbocharged version of Peter Andre's "Mysterious Girl", much to the appreciation of the crowd which is already heading for critical mass. The valiant, though doubtful promise of "Never Getting Drunk Again" keeps things ticking along nicely and by the time the distortion-laden "Lost The Fight" ("for people who don't like Ska") is aired it is clear that Blag are having a whale of a time, flinging free CD's at all and sundry (one of which appears to be claimed by a doorman).

Carrying on what seems to be one of the themes of the night, Blag also bring some strong vocal interplay to the table, and a new track which I suspect rejoices in the name "The Queen is Dead" showcases both this and some sweet guitar solos, coming to multiple crescendos and exciting the crowd still further. Speaking of track names, the penultimate song on the roster neatly parodies Sir Isaac Newton himself with the superb moniker "Skanking on the Shoulders of Townies". Another belter of a track, this one defies the de-tuning of one of the guitars and ends with a heartening hands-in-the-air clapalong that sums up the mood of the evening far better than the brawling cretins forcibly ejected from the hall. Inexplicably, Blag choose to end their set with an alternative take on the theme from the cartoon "Arthur". Equally inexplicably, it works like a charm, the crowd turning into a good-natured scrum behind which Blag all but disappear. Though lacking the added texture of One Stop Earnest's brass section or the sheer crowd-baiting menace of Skeletal Embrace, with this set Blag have shown that they- and indeed the ska genre- are a force to be reckoned with in the BOTB.

Majere thinks Blag should cover: "Bounce" (System Of A Down)

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