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 Photo: Justin Edwards
In this lone man-and-guitar kinda evening, the most ornate instrumentation ironically comes in the form of a set by Mad Macka, of Onyas and Cosmic Psychos fame, who plays minimalist electric blues punk, peppered with covers from the likes of Oi! veterans The Business. He “lavishly” decorates his songs with accompaniment from a blues harp player, though his blue singlet and ‘strayan accent that could cut glass illustrate the no-frills aspect at the heart of his aesthetic. This performance would go down much better with the beer-spraying punters over at The Step Inn.
Tim Steward is now possibly as seasoned as an acoustic troubadour as he is playing fuzzed-up garage pop. His many years honing his chops for hooky songwriting in Screamfeeder have paid off, to the point that his unplugged performance is ideal for the intimate surroundings of the Troubadour. His distinctive honking vocal style also reveals a great melodic sensibility – and the fact he’s playing a support with one of the key figures from Hüsker Dü (a big influence on Screamfeeder) must have made his month.
Speaking of which, veteran of hardcore punk and composer of a wealth of alt-rock anthems Grant Hart is seen modestly setting up his own equipment (guitar, mike and amp) before enthralling everyone present with a blend of solo, Nova Mob and Hart-penned Hüsker Dü material. Happily, the songs from his new album Hot Wax stand up fine next to established Hart classics. There aren’t many guys whose songs from the SST hardcore era also sound great in stripped back singer-songwriter form, but Hart was never your common-or-garden punk.
Without a set list, Hart just plays to the vibe of the room, even taking requests (inevitably greeted by simultaneous shouts of “Sorry Somehow!”, “Keep Hanging On!” etc). But he plays practically everything you could dream of, from Zen Arcade’s Turn On The News, New Day Rising’s The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill and Books About UFOs, Flip Your Wig’s Green Eyes and, surprisingly early in the set, Candy Apple Grey’s Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely. There’s also a healthy chunk from the criminally underrated Hüsker Dü swansong Warehouse: Songs And Stories; She’s A Woman (And Now He Is A Man), Back From Somewhere and Charity Chastity Prudence And Hope transport me back to being 15 again and I, for one, am enormously grateful for that.
MATT THROWER
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