Northumberland Arms, 19th October

I shall at this moment that I am not, and indeed never have been, a keen fan of hardcore nor punk music and so it comes as no surprise when I shall that the gig at the Northumberland Arms on 19th October was my first hardcore gig. I must also take this opportunity to state that I was surprised by the sheer quality of the hardcore scene in Newcastle, with the level of musicianship being far above that I am used to seeing at low-key pub gigs.

The night opened with a refreshing and surprising rebirth of the early 1990s shoe-gazing genre, with the local artist, ‘Waskerley Way’, taking his name from a cycle route crossing the Pennines ending just shy of Newcastle. The landscapes which must be visible whilst on this route, I hope are as lush and breath taking as the sonic landscapes which he produces with little more than a guitar, producing the trademark shoe-gazing wall of sound, and a laptop producing electronic and thoroughly modern beats and back parts.

The display of local talent continued with the likes of ‘Tide of Iron’, who also started the night’s hardcore line-up with their powerful instrumental skill. A power-trio in the strictest and truest sense of the phrase, the interplay between all three members shows a dynamic and bond which many bands who are touring and playing much larger venues fail to have. Tight, feedback riffs emanate from the guitar over the truly thunderous bass parts, both of which fit perfectly over the heart-pounding drums which deafen and shake a venue where a PA system isn’t quite required and yet gives Tide of Iron the high decibel power which their music fits so perfectly.

Austria’s ‘The Plague Mass’ did not let up when it came to both onstage energy and indeed volume providing a barrage of ‘Rammstein’ -influenced continental hardcore rock. On tour throughout the rest of mainland Europe and indeed England, these rockers seemed not to see Newcastle as ‘just another gig, in yet another city’. The explosive nature of their furious guitar work and thunderous drums shows the eager energy of an enthusiastic band who are passionate about the job they have set themselves, and most importantly they enjoy it. Singing in a mixture of both German and English, where in the instances of the former, much of the audience could not understand the lyrics not being fluent, it was no matter. Just as with the shoe-gazing vocals heard earlier, those of ‘The Plague Mass’ are delivered in such a way that specific understanding or even hearing of particular words and lyrics is unimportant, so is singing filled with angst and anger, which does not need a dictionary to be translated from German to English, or in fact Geordie.

The evening was brought to an epic end in the form of the Cornwall originating ‘Crocus’ whose brand of so called ‘screamo’ music I would never describe as ‘my cup of tea’ was nonetheless performed with the energy and passionate which the previous acts had seemed to leave upon the stage. In an era where their angst-driven lyrics can be found being played on Radio 1 by such fellow hardcore bands as Enter Shakari, it may not be long before ‘Crocus’ start receiving air-play of their own. The talent is there.

And I think this can be said for all of the bands which graced the slightly cramped and low-ceilinged stage of the Northumberland. The talent is present. When the charts today are found filled with seemingly endless and mindless ‘R’n’B’ tracks, it gives me hope that although they do not tailor to my taste directly, the spirit of rock, however hardcore, is still alive and well, to be found in the local pub on a cold Tuesday night.

Will Reynolds