Punk On The Corner
The Corner House,
Cambridge

14th May 2009

Freedom Faction + Born To Destruct + The DFCs

An evening of female fronted punk bands that was originally to be headlined by The Duel, but due to one of the bands members children being diagnosed with a serious illness they were unable to be here this evening. I think I can safely say on behalf of all us that we wish the little one a speedy recovery and quite rightly there are times when events transcend even music and family has to take priority.

The Corner House, is I believe, under new management and they are keen to promote the place as a music venue and if last night was anything to go by, as long as that terror of the modern world - apathy - doesnt descend like nemisis I can see this becoming a regular venue on the Cambridge circuit. (I know that previously TCH put on music nights etc - but this new venture seems to have live music very much as its soul). Great atmosphere, great sound - appreciative nod on behalf of all the bands to the sound guy - an intimate stage area, yep all in all not a bad place to either play or listen to great live music.

Kicking off proceedings were The DFCs (Dont Fucking Cares) a band with a wealth of experience between them which shows in their material and its delivery. A band who are difficult to categorize as they play a blend of sleazy grungy dirty punky rock n roll but thats how it should be. There are too many pigeon holes, in my book there are two, GOOD & CRAP, and believe me these guys are very very good!  The drums and bass are tight, the guitar work full of power and dirty goodness and when you have singer of Märtas caliber and experience you simply cannot fail. The songs are well constructed and executed with a high level of precision and professionalism which a decent crowd (for Thursday night) agreed with if the level of noisy appreciation was anything to go by! The band are Vocals - Märta Larsson Guitar - Dean Lewis Bass - Steve Ives Drums - Phil Whoare, this is the first time I have seen the band, and I sincerely hope it wont be the last. http//www.myspace.com/thedfcs or http//www.thedfcs.co.uk/

Following on from a brilliant start to the evening were underdog Cambridge punkers, Born To Destruct who picked up from where the DFCs left off and treated us to a rather tasty set full of surprises (for followers of the band) and contrasts. Those that dont follow the band as closely had fun too if the rather exuberant moshing antics were anything to go by. Playing their firmly established set closer (We Bring the Noise) as the opening song caught the attention, add in to the mix, a re-working of one of the new songs(Neckbeard), the first airing of NEW song (Destruction Crew) that is destined to be in the set for a while, and the rest of the set consisting of tracks from their latest CD - (WE BRING THE NOISE -£5 available along with some quality merchandise inc T-Shirts at gigs from the band or contact them on line . Highlight of their set was the mighty SICK SCUM & APATHY which saw Kat Destruct (VOX) off the stage and in to the crowd. Woodstock (GUITAR & B/VOX), Dr Stuart (BASS & B/VOX) and Demolition Rich - (DRUMS) - sporting a new flashy t-shirt and with his own personal fan club! -   gave Kat the perfect backing all night. The band had a great time, so did we. Brilliant.

So with the TCH crowd bubbling away on a nice rolling boil it was time for Freedom Faction

With the configuration of the stage being on the 'small' side, the band had to adopt more of a mid field diamond the old "1-2-1" in the middle of the park!!!! :) You can tell the band have been gigging regularly of late as they are more relaxed and enjoy themselves, visibly, where as in the early days they were having fun, but concentrating so hard on getting it right they forgot how to smile. That was then - this is now. Rhi (VOX) is definitly gaining in confidence and she is developing a gritty, don't mess with me, angsty personae which suits the style of music the boys behing her generate with its driving bass lines - NICK (BASS), simple, dirty sound guitar - Strang (GUITAR) and some nice touches from their young stick man - Tom (DRUMS). Inside Outside was probably the stand out song of the set for me, but it was close run thing with the new song (???title???) and Anti Love Vengance.

Even allowing for the fact that this wasn't the tightest I have heard them play they are seasoned enough performers these days to take it on the chin and roll with the punches an keep moving forward. And it was a great way for the evening to draw to a close with the band giving its friends and fans what they want.

Overall a brilliant night of hi-quality music and it is always gratifying to see bands support each other  and  when members of other bands support gigs like this when they could be having a night off you know the scene has a chance to keep thriving. Chris(Dun2Def), Ian & Stu (The Buffalo Club), George & Matt (The Cougars) and anyone else I've missed, and eveyone else that made the effort to turn out on Thursday evening, cheers!

Thanks to The Corner House for providing the venue, hope we can come back soon!
Thanks to the sound engineer for making and keeping the bands sounding good
Thanks to the bands and their friends and families for lending their support
Thanks to everyone else wh came to listen to some great music to strut their punky stuff.

Respectfull Submitted by
A Man Called Moose