This Aint Vegas

A few hundred metres from the thronging streets of Hoxton Square, a faux fashionable conglomeration of London’s youth mingle in a red painted, crazy paved haven otherwise known as The Macbeth. A candle-lit mirage of retro-skewed décor and makeshift DIY, this schizophrenic old mans pub come electro-punk club is currently the home of This Is Music London, tonight presenting a potent assemblage of alt-punk-rock both old and new.

First up are Rory Attwell (of the short lived but revered trio Test Icicles and the longer lasting but also unfortunately defunct RAT:ATT:AGG)’s newest project, a two boy, two girl noize-punk creation called* Kasms*. With droning, feedback-laden guitars, pulsing beats and a messy yet tight aesthetic, the reverb-heavy, almost surf-punk tones are offset by raw and at times painfully high pitched vocals by miniscule frontwoman Rachel Callaghan, who writhes and tears her way through the set with seemingly unstoppable energy. A dynamically engaging performance, if vocally an acquired taste.

Tropics (so called “in reference to writer Henry Miller, specifically his book _Tropic Of Cancer,” according to vocalist and guitarist Jodie Cox, or _“because it sounds amazing!” according to vocalist and guitarist Dan Reeves) are next to take to the stage; an art-punk fusion of Bullet Union (dead), RAT:ATT:AGG (still dead) and Exeter’s An Emergency (still thriving despite a recent geographical dispersion of members). Faced with an attentive crowd and a lone drunken crusty punk slow-motion skanking at the front, they waste no time in launching into a skin-tight set of dischordantly melodic alt-punk, all three axemen taking turns on the mic as they flow from math to punk to art-rock ‘n’ fucking roll. With superb sonic dynamics and mesmerising beats, it’s a shame their set is only about five songs long. (Check out some photos HERE)

Finally, despite their grammatically mystifying moniker, headliners This Aint Vegas provide a fine spread of punchy indie-rock, the nodding heads of the crowd and pronounced wobble of lone-crusty-punk becoming more animated by the second. A cover of Devo’s ‘Girl You Want’ proves particularly popular, as does new single ‘Short Term Long Term’, the quartet’s robust beats and stark vocal harmonies sounding slick despite the venue’s questionable PA. Collapsing into an intense instrumental finale iced with an uncharacteristically manic drum solo, the crowd finally start to rock out to the music, the crusty punk falls over, and the punters celebrate another great night in east London. We’ll drink to that.

This Aint Vegas photographed by Owen Richards