Music To March To

How on earth had I never seen Killing Joke before last night. They've been going over 30 years and I've been going to gigs for even longer. It's not like I'm a big fan or anything, I only own the first album, but surely our paths should have crossed at some point, at a festival maybe? But no, this was a first.

Support was provided by The Crying Spell and The Icarus Line. I missed the first due to the lure of The Bodega and anyway I think 7:15 is really a bit early for watching a gig. Far better to have a couple of pints of decent beer (Pale Rider and Prince Bishop if you're wondering) before having to pay outrageous prices for fizzy piss in the venue (£4.05 for a pint of Gaymers!).

I got in just in time to see The Icarus Line, along with a handful of other punters. Not much of a draw but they did a fine job. They said they're from LA but sounded more like they were from Seattle crossed with Detroit. A lead singer who reminded me of Iggy Pop (but without the see through jeans fortunately), a bassist who knows how a bass should hang and a drummer who wanted to be Dave Grohl.

And so to the main event. I have a feeling that if this gig had been in London it would have been in the Electric Ballroom and it would have been goth central. But not in Newcastle, it was a fairly mixed crowd who seemed up for it. And so they should, the back line made it one of the most thundering, gut-thumping nights I've had since I went to an industrial techno night at The Rocket back in the 1990s. As I mentioned, I only have their first album so I only knew 3 or 4 of the songs but with a band that have found their niche and stick to it, I recognised them all.

A complete aural assault of a night out.