Pix by Sarah Gilpin
Words by Jimmy Glinster
Local rock outfit The Poor sure know how to party, but always seem to save their best for hometown shows, of which tonight happens to be, coupled with an excuse to hold an end-of-year bash.
First up is a new band called Derail. A new band that’s been around since about 2009 in one form or another. A band that at some point in the 2010s released a couple of EPs that disappeared into the world of Bandcamp and Soundcloud. A band birthed by Stuart Williams of Lump and featuring Nic Blom, Dylan Brann and Kurt Winter from The Silencio.
This is their first ever show, though, and as I make my way into the venue halfway through the first song, I notice that Nic has already been kicked off-stage and onto the pit floor. There is a solid early crowd, who all huddle to the side to leave Nic some room to frolic around. The riffs are thick, and the grooves are solid. It’s got a heavy rock influenced, post Nu-Metal vibe, with moments of dual vocal attack between Stu and Nic. This is Stu’s baby after all, and he takes centre stage like a frontman, while the frontman weaves in and out between the crowd.
The tunes come thick and fast, and the crowd absolutely loves it. This is a banger of a first show, and I’m very keen to see where this goes. And maybe Nic will be allowed back onstage next time around, maybe…
Time for a Whiskey, or The Whiskeys, or something like that. All I know is that it fucking rocks. Well, I know a little more than that because frontman vocalist and guitarist Benny Whiskey used to play drums for me in a band, of which I shall not mention the name. Not from any reason apart from the fact it is neither her nor there. Somewhere Else maybe, or not. That’s a story for another day, though.
Benny doesn’t need to play drums in this band though, because he has Josh Larkin, who absolutely destroys. Also, Benny is an insane guitarist that can both shred and hold down a solid rhythm. Oh yeah, this is a two piece, but you’d never guess it with their mix of heavied up covers and originals blasting like a full rock band.
That was a time, a fucking good one!
As The Poor appear onstage one by one, the crowd quickly files in to pack out the mosh pit floor. The riffs hit hard and fast as the band start rocking out. Shortly after, almost instantly, the crowd joins in and the hair and sweat starts flying. If they don’t calm down, they’ll quite soon be in Trouble With The Law. Should I Tell Someone Who Cares?
These guys have been giggling really hard this year, and you can tell. The band is tight, and Skenie’s vocal are on point. He asks us “How the fucking hell are you going c#$ts?”. Then he thanks us all, his family, for coming tonight. Local sound guru Chippy also gets a shout-out for the awesome sound, and for being an awesome person, before the next song Hurricane goes out to a fallen comrade.
A solo bass line in the middle of Paybacks a Bitch gives the crowd a quick chance for a clap along. When the band kicks back in, the crowd starts rocking and bouncing along to the repeated catchphrase of the songs title.
Skenie gives us a lecture something along the lines of “war bad, love good”, then tells us that we’ve all gotta love our brothers and sisters. Then they play Cry Out to show us how much they love us all. It’s a bit soppy in here at the moment, but I guess that’s what bringing all ya mates together for an End of Year Bash is all about. And it still manages to be one hell of a rock show!
There’s always time for a guitar solo, and Daniel Cox takes a minute to show us all just how it’s done as the band rocks out their latest single Lies, which was released today. And then another quick solo, before the call goes out for More Wine Waiter, Please.
Apparently, these guys have been around since 1986 and aren’t old. Well, I was only 6 back then, and I’m pretty fucking old. I’ve got some news for you poor boys, you’re older than me, you young bastards, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
Somehow, Skenie has managed to keep his shirt on the entire show. This is a good thing since he is now dancing on top of a table like a stripper just a few feet away from me. He might be hiding some youthful, wrinkled love handles.
After staying on stage for a couple of encores, including Only The Night, The Poor retreat to the sanctity of Mo’s well stocked backstage area, leaving us safe in the knowledge that good rock and roll does not age, and this is some of the best! And not just in this country, The Poor is a world class rock act!
