With each performance closer to the closing down date of the, current, Little Buildings Venue it gets harder to remove the distraction of the closure from the show itself. Whereas it’s always hard to say goodbye to a friend, it’s even harder when that friend has been unfairly taken from you. The inability to compromise on the venue by local councils should, and hopefully will, be a creative axe to grind for many years by those who call the venue home.
Jumping on a last minute invitation to open the evening, and play at the venue for a final time, local grunger’s ‘Creature’ kick us off with loud feedback, walls of sound and a texture which lands somewhere between Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots. ‘So far’ and ‘It’s free’, as well as a spirited cover of ‘I wanna be your dog’ provide the highlights of a typically intense show.
Retaining the darker elements of Creature, headline support act William Denton Wilde is up next, providing heavy basslines and menacing drum machine loops in a style mixing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club with ‘The Mary Chain. Highlight ‘Jesus got a gun’ steals a set which is nicely interwoven with political humour and, useful, moments of lightness.
Playing live for the first time since 2017, headliners ‘Waves of Dread’ look anything but rusty in a performance driven by strong technical skills and moments of guitar bliss. ‘Sun shows’ and ‘You’ provide highlights in a set which is strongest when focused on dreamy guitars and movements towards a more psychedelic sound. A cover of ‘All apologies’, appropriate for Cobain’s 25th anniversary, also provides an insight into the type of sound we might expect in the future from one of the technically finest bands in the region.
