Live music review: Cricket-clap Floor Shows, The White Rabbit, Plymouth

By Anti Pie Consortium, on Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Apple Pie Consortium, our eye on the Plymouth music scene popped along to the Cricket-clap floor shows, at The White Rabbit, Plymouth, and and comes away with the conclusion that some ears may require plugs.

Damerels opened, and hooked me in despite me convincing myself that I didn’t like them. I’d seen this band once before, but the compact size of the venue played greatly to their advantage squeezing the massive sound into a gut punch of concentrated noise.

Their guitar sound was different too, dissonant and bluesy, it topped the revitalisation nicely.

I am a stubborn person, but was happily surprised to see these guys beat that part of me and with a few minor tweaks, offer up a great set.

Next up was Steve Strong performing with avante guitar surrealist Scott Brown, together they helixed and wove irregular sonic patterns to great effect. Their great skill is to offer something inventive even when performing scores played many times before, it’s always just a little bit different thanks to the fractured and discordant nature of the compositions.

They were even briefly joined by former ally and sullen wordsmith Muirhead who recited his tales of barroom debauchery with flair and grimness. The night was concluded with a strange progressive, post-punk chimera brought to life by Machete who continue to go from strength-to-strength, shaking loose any remaining similarity to former project CPF, Machete has grown into its own Frankenstein and who knows what will become of it? A space worth watching.

All three bands put in their own slices of punk rock pie and made a beautifully messed up and noisy picnic that left the crowd looking somewhat shell shocked and domestile. Perhaps they will re-assemble the show in their own minds and present themselves with a route back to this El Dorado.

The night was a great opener to the Cricket-clap floor shows, can’t wait for the next one.

(image: Steve Strong)