Malediction - the long version (band reviews, mostly)

[mrph]

[I'm really not going to attempt to namecheck the umpteen LJers and net.goths who were there, as that would just be silly. Suffice to say that there were lots of us - liz_lowlife's journal lists a few of the LJ reviews that are out there, and diffrentcolours and ladybirdintheuk have both done write-ups, too]

On our way to the first Malediction, Marc Elston lost his ticket and various transport/make-up woes meant that we ended up running about an hour late, missing most of the first band (i.p.).

Whereas this time, just for a change, various transport/make-up woes happened, Marc Elston lost his ticket, we ended up running about an hour late, and we got there just in time for the final "bounce bounce bounce bounce!" of Psychophile's set. Bugger. Judging from the happyperky crowd that had gathered, they went down pretty well (no surprise there). I'll get to see them again in Cambridge, anyway.

Next we had Seize. They've certainly gone a bit more electronic since I last saw them (Whitby) - I think it suits them, although I'm still not that impressed by them as a live band. They sound good, and the energy and enthusiasm is definitely there on stage, but it doesn't seem to radiate out into the audience. Haven't a clue why - there just seemed to be some spark or connection missing.

Things were definitely filling up by this point, just in time for Swarf. There seemed to be a lot of existing Swarf fans in the house, and the crowd was forming before they'd played a note (with assorted Brighton, Soton and net.goth types making up the first two rows, as usual...). A really good set, and they seemed to be having a vast amount of fun onstage - liz_lowlife plays a mean air guitar - they're obviously a lot more confident than they used to be (they all looked a wee bit timid when I first saw them, at Black Machine :). They finished on a rather snazzy new song, "Subtext", and there was much applause...

Then I dashed off with the mob for some food, saying hi to diffrentcolours and gothslut on the way. We got back towards the end of Libitina's set - they'd got the dinnertime slot, and they were quite a change of style from the previous three (synth-based, female vocalist) bands, so they didn't seem to go down as well as they might have done. Shame - I really like the recent album, but it's definitely not "immediately grabs you and forces you to dance" tunes. I'm deeply curious as to what they'll sound like for the next album, mind you - I wonder if I missed any new material? Oh, and I wish they'd stop playing Gothic People. They'll never escape from that one damned joke song unless they do... it's probably even worth their time writing a different joke/poppy/whatever song, solely to give the poor guys a break from this one... :(

As for The Chaos Engine... yay! lee_chaos stormed on stage in a long coat, hair whirling, and didn't slow the pace or lessen the intensity until the end of the set. Where the hell does he get the energy?! This was the first time I'd heard some of the new material, too - I like muchly. Allegedly "Escape Ferocity" will finally appear in March, which will be good (and it'll be pre-ordered just as soon as I have money again.. :)

Then, finally, we had dreamdisciples. 'Nuff said. Top band, top set. And Ian Mann was happily filming the audience for their upcoming video, which should be... entertaining. Although by this point my feet were aching (and the various precarious Towers of Goth were starting to wobble a bit...), so I gave up halfway through and joined Jo and ladybirdintheuk, watching from the sidelines in a civilised manner.

After the bands, I got hauled back onto the dancefloor (literally, not that I was complaining... :), had much fun and eventually collapsed into a small happy inert heap. And then we lost Geoff, which wasn't ideal. So after a fair bit of panic and a "he's gone wandering around Reading" lead, Marc decided we'd better be going. *sigh*

[A certain band member was happily snoozing on the cloakroom floor by this point, btw. I have photographic evidence, although I'm not sure I'd survive long if I published it... :)]

We did eventually find Geoff, standing on the high ramp out of the multistory car park, looking down on the city, silhouetted against the sky in a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. Very photogenic, in a Wim Wenders sort of way.

And then we finally headed home, and I sort of lost my grip on consciousness...