Review
THE CREEPSHOW
PLUS: Dying Breeds and Gravedale High
The Waterfront, Norwich
13th August 2012
Words and Photos: Charlie Wallis
It’s a pretty punk rock crowd at The Waterfront tonight. You’ve got everyone from your slick haired rockabilly’s, your spiky topped hardcore punk right down to your young pop punk pre-drivers and all of them share a love of music that in one way or another, has a big middle finger raised to the rest of the world. Considering Canadian rockabilly punks The Creepshow are by no means the most commercially massive band in the world, the often sparsely populated Waterfront Studio is feeling remarkably full (and as a result uncomfortably warm!).
First band on tonight are local scene veterans Gravedale High. This horror punk quintet have been about on and off for the last 6 years or so and have undergone a variety of member changes since their inception with only three of the original member remaining. It’s evident however that they’ve stumbled across something promising with the current lineup. Lead singer Adrian Kassisia is a formidable presence who stylistically rangers from aggressive sneering vocals to almost croon worthy melodies. The guys play through a mix of catchy punk numbers old and new, with favourite coming in the zombie themed “Living the Dead Way”.
Gravedale High
Next up is another local band, and from the crowd amassing, clearly a local favourite. Dying Breeds bring the fun in a big way. Now it’s worth mentioning that singer and guitarist have had to do a bit of a switcheroo tonight given the fact that lead singer Tom Ralphs has lost his voice, leading to guitarist Andrew Jeckell to take over main vocal duties. In many bands this would be a recipe for disaster, however Dying Breeds are able to take this and build on it making the whole experience hysterical with forgotten words and dodgy vocals forming a big part of the bands charm. Singer issues aside, their brand of pop punk is pretty top notch and the jokey atmosphere (albeit based predominantly around masturbation) are reminiscent of pop punks greatest heroes.
Dying Breeds
The Creepshow are another band who’ve gone through changes over the years and there are many here who’ve yet to see in person how lead singer Kenda Legaspi performs in the flesh. Instantly it’s hard to imagine anyone being disappointed. Kenda, despite her stature, is impressive as a frontwoman, splitting her performance between guitar playing behind the mic, stood up on the barrier singing to the fans and even at one point diving into the pit herself. This is not to forget the rest of the band, who form an extremely well oiled psychobilly machine powered by punk riffs and Dax Wax! This is a band who’s whole persona is based around entertainment and this is exactly what they provide and it’s provided in abundance.
The Creepshow
