Tearjerk and Dirtbox, Aberdeen Malt Mill 12th June 2002

Well, this gig had to be the funniest of my life, well, not the gig itself, but the day as a whole. After spending 40 minutes trapped in the back of Grossi`s (Tear Jerk) ancient Fiat Panda, i was sure that i would need some sort of specialist physio treatment to my ass. Never before have i had to bear such pain in my life, not only was there a big pole sticking into my left butt cheek, but i had to crouch low because my head kept smacking on the underside of the roof. Im sure the car is turbo charged, although there were 5 of us in the car along with various items of musical equipement, the car still managed to accelerate and at times, manage to hit the 70 mph speed limit when going down hill, although no notice was payed to the speeding cameras, as they were of no concern.

On arriving in Aberdeen, this being only my second time in the city, we were greeted by boy racers and pissed on with rain. The only light relief was the fact that i could stand up without falling on my face. We were accompainied on the journy by the members of Dirtbox, the Perth punk band and recent winners of Curly Lloyds battle of the bands. Two fairly new punk bands with excess humour and adrenaline, surely the performance was to be one to remember... but it wasnt, well, not for all the right reasons anyway.

The venue was the Malt Mill, apparently a venue for cover bands and the like. Hidden away downstairs is a fairly spacious stage with an large floor space, bar and seated area. A perfect venue it seemed for the gig, and the expected crowds. However, the crowds were not comming, and after 30 minutes of scanning to dull and depressing Aberdeen streets, i think i managed to find around 20 people or so, none of whom were interested in what i was going to tell them. For a city that is meant to be Scotland`s 3rd largest, the people are certainly affraid to wander the streets. Perhaps it may have been the they were tipped off about our imminent arrival to the city which prompted them to take refuge, or it could have been the fact it was raining like a tropical storm

As for the venue, right from the very start, the woman behind the bar was giving the impression she wanted the bands to play cards rather than play punk music.

First up were the supporting band, Dirtbox, veterans of Perth`s small but hugely active punk scene. The band were fresh from winning the battle of the bands at Perths hugely popular Curly Lloyds night club and band venue. Right from the very first song, Dirtbox were proving that their sound was clear and clean-cut, almost Blink182 esque, the group that i suspect are Dirtbox`s primary influences. Although filled with heart and soul, the bands bouncy music failed to make a huge impression on the 20 or so people that had attended to gig.

Dirtbox`s sound would become too familiar at times, and the tracks would be too much alike for most of the duration of their performance, although not a bad thing, a degree of complexity and variety would not have gone amiss and would have increased the chances of greater gratidude from the dwindling audience. The good thing to see was that the band was not dispirited by the small attendace and gloomy weather and atmoshpere the granite city had provided them with, and for the bands first venture to the city, one should not be displeased at their performance, least of all, the band themselves. Its good to see a young band taking criticism to heart and continueing to perform to their ability.

Next up were TearJerk, the 6 month old outfit from Dundee. The band had been asked by the venue to play and had greatfully accepted. Having seen the band perform previously in Carnousite and Dundee itself, i knew that they were the ones to see tonight. Having increased the average crowd attendace to some Dundee venues, the band are continuously creating new songs and writing their own material, a good quality all bands should posses, however and unforunately, on the day, the performance would not do the band any good.

Tonight the band were to play some new material, however, they didnt sound as clear or as in-sync as they had in previous performances. The small crowd may have disheartened the band as they seemed to play in a lazy fashion without the comic qualities they had displayed weeks earlier in Dundee`s Westport Bar. The singing was out of line with the rest of the band and at times the drumming was going much quicker than the rest of the band could handle.

With a new demo / EP comming soon from both bands, they are definately two to watch out for in the future, with more experience and more gigs under their belts, the lessons learned past,present and future will only serve to improve their overall ability.

All in all, a substandard gig from above standard bands.

If you disagree or agree, make your views known on the forums... if you feel you can do a better job, then send us your reviews and we will gladly place them amongst all the others on the site, thank you for listening. i`m off to watch Taxi Driver.

KJ