Nothington

support Apologies I Have None + Tag Your Targets + Organiseret Støj
author PP date 03/05/13 venue Kraftwerket, Copenhagen, DEN

And so we're all gathered together again at Kraftwerket still dealing with the post-Groezrock hangover, where some of the most exciting new names in punk rock are performing tonight. Nothington, who are fresh from having opened the main stage at Groezrock on Day 2, are headlining, but it could just as well be a co-headline set considering how much hype has been revolving around support band Apologies, I Have None from the UK in recent months. To complete the excellent package we have Tag Your Targets from Sweden, whose new albums "Destinations" is very good indeed, and a local band in the form of Organiseret Støj, who are replacing the now-defunct Respirators who were originally designed as the opening band tonight.

Organiseret Støj

Organiseret Støj

The locals in Organiseret Støj are a new entrant to the Danish punk rock scene. On first listen, they sound like a bastard child between really old school Green Day (think "Kerplunk" and before) and NOFX, with some pub punk (think Cockney Rejects or something) thrown in for good measure. So basically like raw pop punk with a rowdy vibe. The first couple of songs are their own, which are all announced as this song is about 'fuck the government' or 'fuck TV' and so forth. They're fairly decent, but then the band decide to absolutely MURDER a couple of NOFX songs. "I Wanna Be An Alcoholic" is decent still, but the covers of "Stickin' In My Eye" and "Bob" have to be among the worst covers of NOFX I've ever heard. From here on, the set goes downhill fast, as the band runs out of material to play (given how new they are), and grow more and more retarded (given how drunk their vocalist is), yet they choose to exceed their allocated lot by at least 20 minutes because nobody goes and pulls the plug. Still, there are some positives the band can take out of this show: they talk a lot and entertain the crowd in between songs with drunken confidence, which is promising because a lot of bands don't seem to know what to say as they're starting their career. The negatives, however, need much, much work still. One, don't be this fucking wasted when you're playing a show. Fat Mike is a drugged up idiot sometimes, but at least he can still play his songs properly and to a reasonable degree of tightness. Two, don't play for 45 minutes when you have decent material for a 15 minute set: it just makes you look bad.

Tag Your Targets

Tag Your Targets

So I've seen Tag Your Targets a couple of times in the past, but that was before they had released their debut album "Destinations", which is a massive improvement from anything the band has written in the past (review soon). This is an album that'll catapult Tag Your Targets into international awareness, so it is no surprise to see that the band's live show also demonstrates renewed energy and confidence. Where they previously seemed a bit shy, amateurish and a tad bit awkward live, the experience from having played a ton of shows and having strong material underneath their belt shows big time tonight, and the band are at the most convincing they've ever been. You can tell that they really believe in their new songs not just in the way that they deliver the sing alongs to "At Any Rate" and "This Is What We Do (And This Is Why)", but also in the sheer amount of energy that the band display in the small space available. They jump, they crash into each other, and perform with dedication, which is sure to have them leave the show tonight with a wealth of new fans, considering only two people (the undersigned and TL, incidentally) raised their hands when they asked if anyone had ever seen them before.

Apologies, I Have None

Apologies, I Have None

In stark contrast to Tag Your Targets, the Britons in Apologies, I Have None have been revered by the international scene for quite a while now thanks to their debut album "London" last year, which turned heads left and right and made it onto a number of best of lists that year. Also in stark contrast, they don't possess anywhere near the same amount of energy as the bouncy Tag Your Targets performance just before, but that's okay, because they instead rely on quiet, slow buildups that explode into super emotional sing along sessions. There are even small ones heard from a few people at the front, and why wouldn't there be? They play so many great songs tonight, which gathers people all the way to the front of the stage, who are witnessing the passionate outbursts of emotion that their dual-vocal approach mostly in quiet awe and respect. If TYT left the venue with a lot of fans, then Apologies, I Have None must have done so in droves. Excellent debut in Denmark.

8

Nothington

Nothington

Although you cannot argue against the fact that Nothington don't exactly write complicated punk rock, they have one fantastic asset in the band that is guaranteed to make them a cult band in the years to come. The roared vocals of Jay Northington are a spectacle to hear in all their gravelly glory, and when the band package it together with awesomely raw melodies and big woo-hoo sing alongs, you're guaranteed it's going to be hit within the punk rock scene. Having played the main stage at Groezrock only five days ago, the transition back to basement style venues probably feels a little weird, but yet the band seem genuinely happy to see so many people at the small confines of Kraftwerket, especially the people singing along to their music at the front row. The guys at front are singing along to seemingly every song, so Northington responds by giving out constant fist bumps and love to the people at the front of the venue, especially when they continue to do so even at some of the older songs from the EPs that were released years ago. There's crowd surfing, small sing alongs, and plenty of energy from the crowd's side, and the band itself also moving enough to make them seem energetic (although Tag Your Targets takes that prize home tonight). This is how gravelly melodic punk is meant to be experienced: with friends, in a small, intimate venue, and with great melodies supplemented by sing alongs.

8

Photos by Vibeke Langvad

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