Gig Rewiew of Lowdrive and the Hearing

GIG REVIEW OF LOW DRIVE AND THE HEARING

by

Steven Michael Collins

Saturday (the 27th) brought me to the Coliseum. It was an intimate gig
in the small

Side room of the club. Some of the crowd looked like your stereotypical
geography

teacher. Why on earth do they go to great lengths to look rubbish? Is
it fashion?!

Anyway I digress.

Lowdrive started around 10p.m. with an upbeat number to get the crowd
(who I

thought were statues) moving. Move they did, as gentle thigh slapping
gave way to

upper body movement and even foot movement!

Lowdrive reminded me of the work of the U.S. bands The Pixies and
Pearljam circa

1988. Certainly the loud/quiet format of many of Nirvana's songs seemed
to be

evident. The band's instrumentation was tight and the crowd including
myself were

impressed.

After Lowdrive left The Hearing mooched onstage.

The musical style of The Hearing was almost a copy of Lowdrive: all
the songs could

have been the copyright of either band. Interchangeable.

The Hearing played loud and after the crowd having been warmed up from
Lowdrive

(and drink) danced away contentedly visibly enjoying the tunes. The
Hearing and

Lowdrive although they played hardcore with good musicianship, the
song-smithery

lyrics were slightly formulaic and slightly clich?d at times. Very much
teen angst.

Think: Busted not the 'Pumpkins or 'Manics. I suppose it is down to
individual taste

and that is just my opinion. Personally I like to hear good
musicianship to have fun

with i.e. dance but I also go for lyrical content. They don't have to
be a student of

Nietzsche (even though I recommend Thus Spake Zarathustra), but I
expect

meaningful lyrics that tells a story.

In sum, both bands were good party bands, maybe better with a bigger
venue so

everyone can dance with more space. I tend to find with bands the old
adage 'with

ability comes humility' is true. I don't think either band displayed
much humility.

However, I know that this is my opinion, but I don't think they would
be booking

any worlds tours just yet.

You can find out more information about the two bands at:
www.lowdrive.co.uk

and www.thehearing.com respectively.