Blag / The Divide
Week 20 - 30th June 2005
By Majere

Well. With official types engaged in whatever it is official types do when a building takes it upon itself to catch fire with utterly inconsiderate timing, the BOTB becomes yet another asylum seeker, forced to take refuge in the oddly comforting confines of Rosie's. With a stage roughly the size of a Lilliputian postage stamp, it's possibly the only time anyone has been relieved that seven-strong Ska stalwarts One Stop Earnest are no longer in the competition....

BLAG - And speaking of Ska, it's time for the one remaining bearer of that particular musical standard to assault the ramparts once more. Blag set off with "Skarriffic Gangstas" (or "Skanking on the shoulders of Townies" if you prefer) and the initial omens are not good as the floor refuses to fill. Perhaps the BOTB faithful- who are here in fair quantities tonight- simply cannot bring themselves to go anywhere near a nightclub dancefloor. Then, a track or so in, it all clicks. Maybe it's due to a few fans getting in a bit late, but suddenly the floor is heaving. At least one Ska-pit occurs, there are impromptu rounds of ring-a-ring-a-rosie, and a dance-off to blag (sorry) a CD. Fan favourite "Arthur" even brings the most hardcore metallers to the floor, and indeed Blag's heavier riffs and even the occasional lead break do appeal to those for whom Ska might not normally be a first choice. By the end of the set, this room clearly loves Blag. Short of hacking into the website and changing the leaderboard, it's hard to say how they could have done much more to stake a claim on a coveted spot in the final.

Water! (All right then, Coke!) That's one busy bar! Fortunately, unlike certain bars I could mention, one bartender is not considered ample for 100+ customers, and the thirsty are soon quenched, though mutterings that Adam's Ale is being supplied at an oddly inflated cost do circulate...

THE DIVIDE - No strangers to alcoholic beverages themselves if the frontman's JD bottle is any indication, The Divide have a lot to do tonight. Now I must step aside from myself for a moment, stand up from my chair and confess: My name is Majere... and I'm a Divide fan. From their first round performance that seems so long ago, through the stage-filling theatrics of their second round performance and into this set, they have wormed their way into my brain like a rattlesnake into a spaghetti-western cowboy boot. Sadly, for both The Divide and me, that's never quite seemed to be the majority opinion. Though there will be moshing upon the floor tonight- and a floor often unmoshed on, at that- still the crowd response to these stalwart souls never reaches the heights of Blag's performance. The biggest problem is that as a reviewer, and a fan, it's hard to see exactly why. The performance is strong, the frontman engaging and the tracks superlatively written and constructed. Maybe it's the fact that the sound is in places so reminiscent of Deep Purple or early Iron Maiden that's the clue. Perhaps, just perhaps, The Divide are playing music that's just too.. mature. Had they been doing this ten years ago, maybe Ornate Purpose would have been covering them in the first round. As it is, you can tell from looking about the room that their skill, enthusiasm and effort are being appreciated, but the 'click' never quite happens. Perhaps The Divide's time in Yarmouth will really come when they support Dirty DC, perhaps to a crowd more appreciative of their style. But tonight, in terms of the crowd reaction at least, belongs to Blag.

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