Sommerset, gyroscope., Boredumb, Times Up, PC Thug, The Dead Ends

At the Pit Theatre on 19th August 2001
A decent sized early crowd had arrived for opening band The Dead Ends and they weren’t disappointed with a highly entertaining display of old school ala Ramones punk rock with enough grotesque in jokes to keep the punters laughing. The guys played a pretty good set full of tunes which will appear on their debut disc which is due out when Jesse The Body finishes up his next porn flick as the payment will be more then handy to finance the disc. As usual Danny Zuko on bass won some young female admirers with his spectacular moves.

Next were PC Thug and they put on another top showing which was unfortunately dampened by fuck all pit action apart from XCamX and myself having a bit of a good old fashioned wrestle. I think it is fair to say XCamX deserved a beating after the previous nights efforts of shitting me to tears with his commentary of a late night home vacuum shopping channel, it was a shame however that I got a fair schlacking from him. Anyway back to PC Thug, they played faves such as Point The Blame and Confused but where the hell was Why Shouldn’t I Be Angry? (or am I wrong to say they didn’t play it??). Always a good live band, PC Thug are one of the best in this state.

Swapping playing times with PC Thug were Times Up and all I can say about these guys is that they are so consistent, rarely do they play a bad show and considering they play so regularly that is a very good thing. However they do need to have a week or two off especially due to Homesy and his array of kicks and jumps (which may I add will soon break some floors!!), sure he has been described as a amazing human being but even amazing human beings need to have a rest and he was fucked after playing. The guys played a few newer tracks which are a bit different to their more known tunes and shows even more diversity in what they can do, they are just so very good live.

Playing a bit down the list today were Boredumb and it was a welcome surprise as these guys headline a good majority of shows. As usual a short set from the guys and again no pit action to talk about which was a shame. The two newest songs are both rad and I love the three way vocals on the newest one. It was also worth mentioning that the kicks were kept to a minimum from Dion, as I think he realises the amazing human being does them better. A very polished set which the Sommerset fellas digged.

Back after 9 months, this was gyroscope’s first all ages show since Rob returned from Canada and not much has changed!! They still rock out very nicely and had a few new tracks for the kiddies to sample with a bit of slower, rock moments coming into the equation in amongst the emo sound that appeared on their debut ep. Means To a End was a highlight for me but saying that the main highlight for me was having the guys back as a band, and back in a big way aswell. As expected they got a great reception, and hopefully they will get their next release out shortly.

New Zealanders Sommerset were headlining the show and it was debatable to suggest how many of the crowd had actually heard of Sommerset before. In anycase the guys played a very energetic and outstanding set that had the majority of heads inside the Pit Theatre nodding with delight. The guys played a heap of tracks off their latest release “Fast Cars, Slow Guitars” and some tracks from their older disc “More Songs” which were executed faultlessly. Ryan has a strong voice and is aided by vocals/screams from drummer Jay while bassist Stefan and guitarist Jeremy were moving around the stage and screaming at very regular intervals. Definitely the highlights for me were ‘Artless’, ‘Clutter’, 'Fast Cars, Slow Guitars' and ‘The Three R’s’. The Pit was pretty much chockers as Sommerset played and the crowd cheered and clapped approvingly. I think it is fair to say that most people went home with a smile on their face, and maybe some who now realise there is more to New Zealand than Shihad and sheep.

This tour was fucking unreal, all shows went down well and the guys were super cool. Lets hope everyone comes out to see them again when they return next year as planned and more fun times are had. Thanks to everyone involved in the tour, the bands who played and everyone for coming out to the shows, hope you had fun!!