As befits a gig of this sort at a rough and ready venue with a trio of hardcore bands this review will be brief and to the point. After picking up top man Jan (of One Man Stand fame) we arrived at the gaff and chatted between ourselves and with various faces. A few drinks and round the back into the darkened room to witness the apparently newly formed Margaret Thrasher. If this was their first gig then not a bad effort at all as the enthusiasm and virginal gusto carried through the set overlaying any minor mishaps in musical presentation. Not bad at all.

Two piece Calculon were next and despite lacking in numbers made one hell of an aural racket to do themselves justice. If the venue had been bigger I don't know how they would have faired but that's by the by as this was another deafening onslaught of untamed angst. More polished than the first act and with a drummer fully involved with the whole debacle and hellbent on producing a blast and smash performance. Quite impressive.

Lastly the band I came to see, namely, The masters of hardcore - The Day Man Lost. Fully justified in their headline slot this was a pure musical molestation of grind and blind terror that was fully fuelled with belief and passion. For the connoiseur of hardcore this typifies what the sub-genre is about and encapsulates those 500mph raging moments to a tee. Despite technical hiccups beyond their control TDML were too focused to be distracted and produced a spellbinding performance. Top man Mike made a guest appearance and sang two songs as a farewell to the band as the new singer took the reins in fine style.

For me not a bad night at all but very much an acquired taste and bands like this should play more on the regular circuit and experience other sounds and styles so as to highlight the contrast and enthuse the unconvinced. Thomas Hardy once wrote in his wonderfully prosaic style something along the lines of that harsh condiments alone can be unpalatable and offensive but when mixed with other flavours only add to the overall taste. I'm sure you get the drift.

review by OMD (9 Feb 2007)