Friday night saw a real bonanza of heavy hitters commanding the stage at Three Tanners Bank, North Shields. Seven Pound Halo, Wool, and headliners Strays, all brought a huge amount of energy and grit to proceedings.
SEVEN POUND HALO
First band on at Three Tanners Bank last night were Melbourne’s finest, Seven Pound Halo. These Aussie heavy rockers really set the bar incredibly high with their epic rollicking set.
These guys were absolutely thrilling to watch. Frontman Max really muscled in on vocals with a raw sound punctuating each song. Guitars were really dialled up to create an awesome sound that mixed garage rock, 90s grunge and psych. Really punchy and gritty. Tracks like Cut Through The Noise were particularly thrashing with some killer bass lines.
As the Seven Pound Halo drummer, Felix, couldn’t get across for this gig, there were two very familiar faces to the Geordie scene taking turns to smash up the skins. First up Evan (also on bass with Strays) attacked the tubs with his boundless energy seen with Idle Hands and Charlie Floyd among others. Next Strays frontman Barns showed off his beast like drumming chops in a manner which Dave Grohl would be proud.
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WOOL
Sandwiched between two full throttle hard hitting bands at Three Tanners Bank last night, Wool provided a more melodic alternative. Though they also had some impressively noisy moments.
These lads gave an incredibly gutsy performance for a fairly new outfit. Their sound was shoegaze meets alternative rock. I was impressed by the intensity and yearning of many of their songs. Their frontman definitely reminded me of vocalists like Thom Yorke. Pretty edgy falsetto in places which was ace.
There was also a Fontaines DC vibe to the sound. Heavy yet melodic guitar licks; cool bass lines. Great drumming too which really cut through each track.
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STRAYS
Tremendous headline set from the Strays boys last night at Three Tanners Bank, North Shields. Gutsy, gritty, grungy… these lads really know how to tear it up live.
In a band bursting at the seams with raucously noisy and incredibly talented rock drummers, it was ace to see both Evan and Barns absolutely hammering the kit during the Seven Pound Halo support slot. Then Aidan’s turn to slam the skins during Strays set which really got the crowds jumping.
Up front for Strays, Barns absolutely commanded the action with heavy power chords on his guitar and raw vocals cutting through each track with passion. He corralled the crowds into action from the start with Got A Grudge. And got the mosh pits going a few tracks in.
Latest single, Over The Edge, is the best Strays track yet. Stood next to Kieron on lead guitar, I was really impressed by his infectious melodic playing during the instrumental sections especially. Evan was also having the best fun getting stuck in with some bold bass lines and soaking up the wild atmosphere.
Last three tracks were their other huge singles that were an absolute blast as always: Friends In High Places; Summer Feeling (which these guys can pull off at Christmas); and of course Easy Come, Easy Go. These guys really know how to pull off a catchy tune. Raucous and in your face. I’m looking forward to hearing new material very soon!
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