I was at Big Hands on Oxford Road for last night’s gig and that genuinely is one of my favourite bars in town. With a great selection of draft and bottled beer you really can’t go wrong. I came with plenty of time to have a couple of pints before the first band of the night came on and even caught a bit of their sound check- which immediately got me excited for the night ahead.
Gas Kunst started off with a pretty fast paced tune that got the crowd nicely bopping along. The crash of the drums paired well with the shouty vocals. ‘Meow’ the lead singer said after the tune had ended. The rocky sound of the music wasn’t too heavy so the whimsy side of the band was able to come through. The vocal gymnastics of the lead singer was evident as he ranged from low to high with ease.
“We’re called Gas Kunst!” The lead singer shouted then proceeded to put some sunglasses on which added to his quirky outfit as he was already wearing a sun hat. This next tune felt a bit slower and calmer with fun vocal ‘ladadas’. But as the time progressed the song quickly sped up and had the whole crowd head banging along.
The lead singer then took his top off and said that he ‘felt quite embarrassed now’. He also then took his hat off whilst the band started playing a rather funky tune following a similar pattern as the song started slow yet ended very fast paced, bringing a heavy and high energy vibe to Big Hands last night. The lead singer mentioned that the next tune was a new one and could be described as ‘garage rock opera’. He then put a sailors hat on whilst the tune started to play. The song really felt like a journey, with an instrumental in the middle whilst the lead singer just stood still and stared at the audience- it was rather unnerving. The guitar riffs throughout this tune were so impressive and added such an exciting element to the song.
The next tune started with a rather heavy bass riff which sounded almost scary, as if something was going to jump out into the audience. The vocals joined in and were pretty droney which mixed well with the borderline scary song. The tune then dropped the bass and the drums whilst playing a catchy and almost advert like riff, this gave a great break during the heavy tune and brought a fun juxtaposition to this tune. The whimsy break also made for a great segway back into the heavy bass line from earlier.
The next time was sung by ‘judy jones’ who was the drummer of the band. Throughout the set she had been offering some great harmonies that paired so well with the lead singers vocals. But she genuinely knocked it out the park with her tune, her shouty, angsty vocals worked so well the rocky vibe of the set. Ended their set with ‘PCSO no no no’ to the audience’s dismay. This tune was full of energy and had people even jumping along – it was a great way to end their set.
Dion Lunadon started their set off with a very heavy song, lots of shouting and very fast paced guitar riffs – they were not messing around and instantly got the crowd hooked. The next tune started quickly and the fast paced rock didn’t stop. I knew I was in for a rather heavy night. The band then went swiftly into their next tune and it felt like these guys didn’t need a break. Honestly the stamina from Dion Lunadon was extremely impressive as their set seemed to pass so quickly without the need for a break. The fast paced, heavy rock just kept coming. The amalgamation of sounds played so well with heavy guitar, bass and drums pairing with pretty shouty vocals. This really was a rocker’s dream.
This Kiwi band really wanted to show Manchester how it’s done down in New Zealand- clearly without the need for breaks, it genuinely felt like Dion Lunadon did not come up for air during their first 5 songs with the energy just being at 100 throughout. Before their next tune there was a bit of a pause which was nice as it felt like everyone could catch their breath, but this was swiftly cut off by the start of their next tune. The impressive fast paced drums really carried this band through.
The next tune saw the lead singer stop playing his guitar and have just the rest of the band play – which felt like a build up. Which was correct as the lead singer then started playing a rather fun guitar riff which was worth the wait. The next song had a great guitar motif to it that made the song very catchy, whilst the heavy nature of it stopped it from sounding repetitive.
The next song started with some very heavy drums and then a fun guitar motif came in which had the crowd bopping along. This tune had pretty much no vocals and was just an instrumental which felt like a nice little break in the set where we were truly able to appreciate the band’s talent. After the instrumental the lead singer said that this was their last song which the crowd seemed disappointed at even though it was 11:30pm on a Wednesday – it felt as though the crowd wanted to go all night. This last tune really showcased Dion Lunadon’s abilities and was a perfect way to round off the night.
I really enjoyed myself last night at Big Hands, this was just a gig that I stumbled across and I am really glad that I did. Dion Lunadon have just embarked on their UK leg of their tour with other dates in Nottingham and London coming up. If you ever get the opportunity to see either of these bands I would highly recommend. It was a fun night full of heavy garage rock which made you bang your head and I am very glad that I went.
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT – CATH EVERETT
FOLLOW DION LUNADON HERE
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