Belting out anthemic songs from their new album, Chubby's gang have never sounded better!
First of all, a request to you all. The Moth Club is a great venue; housed in a historic rotary hall, with plenty of old wooden furnishings, plaques and a glittery ceiling to boot. It feels more real than a thousand Islington Academies ever could…so of course, it’s under threat from developers. Please SIGN THIS PETITION to help save it.
Anyway, tonight the venue hosts what will hopefully just be the latest of many more great gigs. Jade Hairpins started life as a side project of Fucked Up stalwarts Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk, and boy, are they having fun with it; mixing styles like a teenage partygoer mixes his drinks.
Whether it’s the arresting funk-pop of ‘My Feet On Your Ground’ defying us not to dance, or the scratchy post punk of ‘Mary Magazine’ worming its way into our subconscious, they barrel through their set with obvious relish, and leave us wanting more. Check out this year’s ’Get Me The Good Stuff’ LP – it’s ace.
Chubby and the Gang‘s Charles ‘Chubby’ Manning Walker is – by his own admission – not a man of words. It matters little, because this time around, he’s armed with ‘And Then There Was…’ his band’s best album to date, and we’re all eager to find out how those new songs will sound live. A quick ‘Cocaine Sunday’ is as mellow as things get this evening; then things get seriously frenzied onstage – and soon afterwards, in the pit too.
It’s rare that we see a band attack their instruments with as much savage glee as Chubby’s Gang do tonight, blasting through old favourites ‘The Mutt’s Nutts’ and ‘Pressure’ In a blaze of breakneck-speed drumming and squalling guitars. They’re clearly having a blast up there, and so is Chubby himself; his confrontational, sweat-soaked presence testament to his passion for what he does.
Mark our words, Chubby And The Gang sound like they want to be your new favourite band – but only if they can eat your old one alive in the process.
Oh, and those new songs? Anthemic, especially the howl-along chorus of ‘To Be Young’ and the balls-out rock n’ roll swagger of ‘There’s a Devil In The Jukebox’
The aforementioned ‘And Then There Was…’ shows a band clearly proud of their hardcore punk roots, but unafraid to blend in all manner of other influences, and you can’t help but wonder (especially with songs this good) if this is the start of something for Chubby And The Gang. Whatever comes next, count us along for the ride.
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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