The café is depressingly deserted tonight, due to the highly popular 2-day ‘Noxfest’ gig on down at Backline Studios. Several people loiter in the street outside, but otherwise the only people in attendance are the bands, staff, myself and a smallish crowd. However, thankfully I can say that this had nothing to do with the calibre of bands here tonight. Tonight proves beyond a doubt that the mediocre and the average have no excuse in today’s Guildford rock scene. Acts like the ones playing tonight are a pleasure to see, as they show that despite the fact that very little is deemed original these days, original bands still pop up, and ‘unoriginal’ bands can still be great, and their songs can be awesome in their own way, even if they do sound similar to other bands. With that in mind, lets’ begin!

Up first tonight are RUBIK, who instantly make their presence known with powerful drum beats, prominent basslines and a strong vocalist. A tight live act, with a solid rock sound that tips its cap to the likes of Lostprophets, Inme, Breed 77 and Jamiroquai (oddly enough), they are powerful, upbeat and musically proficient. They boast some impressive vocal harmonies too, with an occasional Billy Talent-style yelp. They are very professional performers, and are at ease with the crowd, even friendly, with a frontman who is chirpy and talkative throughout the set, but doesn’t fill the set with too much pointless stage-banter. An all round impressive act.

Second on are London post-hardcore progsters MAYORS OF MIYAZAKI, who explode onto the stage with a barrage of angular quirkiness. The café is bombarded with frantic barks and yelps mixed with melodic vocals, high pitched angular guitar lines and solid bass. The concept of Time Signature is more or less thrown out of the window from the word go. Their insane sound brings to mind acts such as At the Drive In and Biffy Clyro. They are confident and friendly with the crowd, and are an impressive act to watch (and a tricky one to follow). They even throw in a cover of blues/jazz classic ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’ (not the Vengaboys track), which is performed in a very tongue in cheek and amusing fashion. They seem to become more and more angular as the set goes on, and by the end they are playing at breakneck amazing levels. Frantic, energetic, schizophrenic and bloody good fun!

Closing tonight’s proceedings are THE OFF POSITION, who shake the café’s foundations with their brutal yet melodic screamo-hardcore. Throat wrenching screams and thunderous drums, coupled with menacing twin guitars try their best to make our ears bleed. These guys are very, very tight, and show both confidence and energy in their live act. Their songs are well written, well structured, and somehow manage to be heavy and catchy at the same time. They do, however, talk a lot. They take several minutes in every break between songs to talk about many different things. Introducing the band, dedicating songs to girlfriends, explaining why their drummer just removed his shirt (do we care?). It’s all very well talking to the crowd, as Rubik’s performance shows, but when it’s this much, it becomes excessive, and borders on self indulgence. This, of course, doesn’t affect their live show in terms of the music, but it is something they need to take into consideration. They may be good, but they aren’t yet that good.

So, all in all, an impressive night (if a little under-advertised). I will be on holiday for the next couple of gigs, but I will be back in September to resume reviewing once more. Until then:

Take Care,

Jamie Webster