GiggingNI.com
Control Zone
With Snitch; LTR;
After taking a rather prolonged (and rather shocking two-week) break from the music scene, I threw myself straight into the deep end to get myself saturated in the local talent yet again. Attending yet another Up in the Attic, brainchild of local music champions Bruised Fruit Promotions, I was in for yet another delightful slice of precious punk perfection in the form of LTR, Snitch and the recently reformed Control Zone, eager to take their success from Carrickfergus and develop it in the country's capital of Belfast.
LTR, who are back and "taking this band thing seriously", were first to rattle the stage and the dismal, early Auntie Annies audience into a frenzy of past memories of the Offspring and the peroxide-soaked days of Billie Joe's Green Day. Their frantic start was testament to the whole punk scene and it proves that the punk scene is still alive and rebelling against society. Playing way faster than the speed limit allows, LTR's impressive set included tunes such as 'Rejected', 'Keep Distant' and, probably their best on the night, 'June' which slotted in perfectly amidst a bill that was destined to attract a crowd of old school, wore 'Hey ho, let's go' tee-shirts and leather jackets - good times were to be had and LTR were definitely probably the highlight for me.
Next up were probably the most popular punk band of the night (sell-outs? You decide!), who go by the name of Snitch. Fuelled by good times and thundering riffs, Snitch proved that, indeed, they could be louder and a hell of a lot faster than the band previous, but with the good fast-paced nature of things comes the bad things. At times, the vocals, understandably rushed to fit in with the propelling music, were sung too fast leaving the crowd to digest an array of unknown words but despite the lack of knowledge of the lyrics, they gained more in presence and performance. 'Do You Wanna Dance?' was the one to get people on their feet and if not filling the space between songs with the Hollyoaks theme tune sure did something for the rest of the punters. Snitch are definitely one to keep an eye on - memories of Rancid will spring to mind every time I seen them about - Mohawk or not.
The Up in the Attic headliners for this fortnight were the recently reformed Control Zone, who, after a legendary 30 years reputation, were back to rock things up yet again. Eager to take their undoubted success from their gigs in Carrickfergus' Joymount Arms, where they pack the place out to the worst seat in the house, up to the music dreamland of Belfast, the band took to the stage ready to fire things up yet again. Despite being a successful punk band years ago, Control Zone have decided to step into the cover band side of the things - the type you would find at weddings and birthday parties thus lead them to successfully deliver songs such as 'The Bitch Song' [Bowling for Soup], 'Ruby Soho' [Rancid], 'Basket Case' [Green Day] to keep the crowd on their side and away from the boredom of unknown punters sitting there bored listening to a bunch of tunes they've never heard before. Playing the best I've heard them play before, they looked to be on top of their game, albeit to a rather small crowd, on the night. It's fantastic to see their enthusiasm, passion and love for music, which is evident on their faces, as sometimes it can be a rare thing. Love them or hate them, they will still enjoy what they are doing no matter what and credit to them.
