Fuckin' mid week gigs are always an arse but to see The Shadowcops again was mighty tempting and I was just in the mood for some genuine power riffage of the highest order. A couple of new bands to boot so the effort seemed worth it. Arriving at the gaff to be met by closed doors and a young lady saying there was nothing on tonight left me a tad pissed off but no sooner was the steel cap boot polished to kick the door through than Shadowcop Nathan turned up and said the gig was on. Good stuff.

An overpriced pint of amber nectar and downstairs for a natter with The Shadowcops and time tickled on and no punters arrived. The promotion for this one was virtually non-existent and a Wednesday night in Manchester, or elsewhere for that matter, is bound to be a challenge.

Anyway the two other bands arrived and the first one was eventually up and at it.

Venus Luxure came and delivered a very Banshee-esque performance with eerie keyboards, a solid dictating drum beat, a sinister and gothic guitar and a shrouded weighty bassline. The mid-pace tempo was maintained throughout with solid performances all round. There is a lot to play with here and a few tweaks with the image could do wonders. The festering ambience and quick adrenalin surges would be enhanced by further shades of black added to the whole element thus making the macabre atmosphere complete and all-consuming. Points to pick were the keyboardist who should have followed his comrades sable attire and a pair of shades wouldn't look out of place. The petite frontlady did well but an addition of a few tunes where she can let her hair down and involve the crowd with a good pogoing session would go down a storm methinks and personally I would think about adding their own lighting effects so as to improve the individuality of the band. If ever a band needed to add theatrics then this outfit would surely be it. I really enjoyed this as it was something different from my usual tipple and there were some solid musical performances. The only blemish is they didn't stick around and support the other two bands but chose to sit upstairs and drink and enjoy each others company. A big fungal frown for that and if they want to build contacts and support the needy live scene then they need to stick around and help the cause. Other than that a pleasure.

Next a band known as Little Star. A band I could easily go to town with and slate and put down with mighty fervour as this brand of music was total and utter poison to my lugholes. Just one of them things and rather than rubbish a band that had the most favourable reception of the night I shall move on to the best band (by far).

Yes you guessed it - The mighty Shadowcops.

Due to time restrictions this was a speeded up performance and in truth was another notch up for this ever impressive band. No fuckin' about and played with a deliberate and incredibly frightening urgency I realised (yet again) I was witnessing something very special. This 4 stroke engine was bursting all cylinders tonight and the 1000mph express was really setting new standards. The music played just throbbed with aggression and the Power was admirable, the Induction of the crowds attention quite magical, the Compression of an abundance of riffs into the cascading cacophony a delight and the Exhaust on the players faces at the end wonderfully evident. Despite a wank turn-out the SC's rammed home a classic and that's the sign of a band who want it and want it bad.

These 4 fuckers are going to blow some asses out of their cosy armchairs in 2008 and good luck to em'. For old fuckers like me its a refreshing joy to see brilliance such as this really pose a few questions to the ancient brigade.

There are a few bands all self-respecting music lovers should check out in 2008 and this outfit should be on everyones list. If you want damn hard music that rocks you to your very foundations then go see The Shadowcops - you will not be disappointed.

review by OMD (29 November 2007)