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What does punk even mean anymore? We're all too self-aware these days to simply think that pouting a bit, being a little snotty, and cranking the guitars up TO THE MAX is enough to make us punk, aren't we?

Well, if that's the case, no-one told the Alice Kona Band. A brattishly loud mess, there is a sense of wild abandon to the thrillingly chaotic noise they make. And they almost totally get away with it. It's actually refreshing to see a band so in love with the idea of "being in a band" that all other considerations are secondary. The music recalls the blocky sound of the early Modern Lovers, or even (gasp!) The Sex Pistols and their propulsive best. They lack a killer tune and still come across as a little contrived, but it the fact remains that the Alice Kona Band could be on the threshold of being an explosively exciting rock and roll band.

The ringing clarion call of a delayed guitar chord announces the fact that we are about to watch a post rock band, and The Cities We Captured begin their set in a jaw-droppingly predictable manner, ticking off ever post-rock cliche in the book. Frankly, And So I Watch You From Afar potentially have a lot to answer for, with a new generation of bands tinkering with delay pedals and harking towards the "apocalyptic", whilst ignoring the emotional core that lies at the beating heart of ASIWYFA. But thankfully we are quickly taken somewhere unexpected, with riff after riff bombarding us and forcing us into submission. If they can avoid the pitfalls of being too technical and emotionally uninvolving, there's every chance they could carve out a niche of their own.

But the night really belongs to Axis Of. Launching their impressive Brobdingnagian single, the North coast three piece immediately tear into their own take on punk rock. Angular riffs and churning basslines intermingle with screamed, impassioned vocals, and it quickly becomes hard not to be carried away with the whole thing. Axis Of are a band who actually CARE about things, and this comes through in their music, and the fact that they've invited various activist groups down to spread the word. Some bands enjoy being in a band, some bands are like engineers, carefully crafting their music and assembling it with care. Other bands are on stage because THEY SIMPLY HAVE TO BE THERE. Axis Of are such a band.

The crowd responds in kind, with an almost fanatical worship quickly spreading through the audience. Crowd surfing is in evidence, whilst a full blown mosh pit breaks out. It's a concern that perhaps the completely sincere message of the band is lost in the revelry, but one suspects that these guys will continue preaching and make their message heard.

On the strength of this, it's very easy to picture Axis Of becoming one of the most important bands of 2010.

Steven Rainey

Photos: Chris Flack