Herrod @ Packhorse
By Gareth BilhamThe Packhorse is one strange venue. The gigs are held upstairs in the attic right out of the way and it almost feels as though it's a secret club only a few know about. What makes it special is that it has that DIY rock n roll feel like the guys who are playing have set this all up themselves and they're gonna rock even if there's nowhere to rock.
Having said this, there's always somewhere to rock, and first band Distophia (from Birmingham) proved this with an energetic display of guitar feedback and noise! The bass player however seemed more interested in looking at the Packhorse lighting; however you get your kicks dude... Throughout their set I was reminded of Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth - just the shear noise and melodies underpinning this noise. The Packhorse sound let them down a little... it was often hard to hear a definate guitar noise and with the two guitars on full pelt it was often a little cluttered. I'd definatlely see them again...
Next up were Afraid of the Dark. First, WHY "Afraid of the Dark"? This name has got to be changed because these guys posses a lot of talent and Afraid of the Dark is just a cliche - why not be called "The Dark" or "After Hours" - yep that last one was a joke... Led by a female singer/guitarist obviously possesing a great voice and vocal range, these guys often sounded nu-metal in guitar style, but on the whole were more rock/pop sounding. One critisism of AOTD is that their songs, although very well delivered, weren't that great. You couldn't help but think you'd heard it all before.
Snarling through their set were Missed Her Bliss. After watching them playing live - I know now why they have that name - because the lead singer obviously misses someones bliss, and many of the lyrics relate to this angst. This angry three-piece turn their amps up and no riff sounds comfortable - they really let rip and give at all they've got - the singer almost elecrocutes himself with all the sweat pouring onto his guitar, the drummer seems to be feeling the emotion as he plays and the bassist - well, he looks hard! (and he was also an excellent bass player). MHB set calmed down towards the end with a couple of long drawn out semi - instumental songs I thought would never end - stick to the anger boys - it's what you do best.
Last to grace the stage were Herrod, who I've seen before. Now, when you first see these guys, you largely don't like them - their songs are complicated and defy any written song theory. But, after the benefit of a few listens - they really grow on you and you finally see where they're coming from. Everything you hated about them you now love. They've also gotten tighter, despite guitarist Rik saying how nervous he was. One highlight of the night were drummer Pete Bush's backing vocals - he really let rip tonight - and his PA was turned up very high, so high he seemed a little shocked at first but then let it rip even more!! These guys sound like no other band and that's to their credit. Their newer songs sound nearer to how Herrod have been trying to sound all along and you just know they'll get better and better - if they'd only stop worring so much about the sound and just get on and rock like they were born to do. Other bands could learn a lot from Herrod - Herrod make music for a reason, beacause they have a vision - and that's why their songs sound wierd; if you're going to make music - have a vision and do it your way - like Herrod do. Go see Herrod and learn.
