Anvil Rock Bar, Bournemouth
One of Bournemouths most proactive and hardworking bands; Regional One are tonight appearing at the Anvil as part of a busy weekend for these guys, with another gig tomorrow supporting Dead Men’s Whiskey in Southampton at the Suburbia. The band have recently earned themselves a nomination in Dorset’s “Original Music Awards” in recognition for their recent Hero EP, an recording that they worked on with the legendary producer Romesh Dodangoda. The band’s networking is proving that it pays dividends with various out of area events happening for them. It has also brought three fresh support acts from further afield to open up the gig tonight.
The first of the trio are Southampton quartet Whitenoise; a band with two electric guitars, drums and no live bassist. They have an alternative sound with melodic effect-driven guitars, along with two very different and distinctive vocalists. It’s refreshing to see that the band are willing to experiment, giving the audience a good variety. With tracks like powerfully delivered “Realign” and the emotionally charged “Once More (With Feeling)” There is plenty of energy and the band impress with their short 30 minute set.
Next up are NTT pronounced “Entity”, a band that are championing the rise of NU Metal once again, after seeing Blackgold support Skindred last week and listening to the Rock radio stations. It’s clear that there is a real movement to bring back the genre made famous by the likes of Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Rappers Zack and Nate are accompanied by Jim on electric guitar, I’ll be honest; I judged them briefly before seeing them perform and thought rap metal without bass and drums, how is this gonna work?? Well within the first couple of songs I was well and truly drawn in, Zack and Nate are on fire and their competent fast paced rapping matched the powerful guitar riffs from Jim. Tracks like “Transition” and the animated recent single “Pictures” really whip up the small but enthusiastic crowd. Their set is topped with a great version of Linkin Park’s “Papercut”, which got the vast majority of the crowd singing the lyrics right back at the band. I think there may well be something of a NU Metal renaissance, it will be interesting to see how things develop.
The final support act of the evening One Last Day have some serious technical issues, which delayed their start. With soundman Steve and Regional One singer Simon’s help, it was rectified and the band were able to start. Kicking off with “No Chemical, the four-piece; again a band without a bassist (are they a dying breed… is bass on tape the way forward… I hope not!!) feature the two guitars of John & Gareth with Connor on drums and vocalist Alex Willox. The band features a tidy mix of different mainly Rock influences with dare I say it again, a scattering of Nu Metal. Tracks like the intense “Stay Away From Me” and “Not Ready To Die” show the band have a fine creative streak and they seem to love getting the audience involved.
I’m not normally a fan of covers…. however The band attempt the mighty “Break Stuff’ by Limp Bizkit and invite Zack from “NTT” to join them, a fantastic moment of unity where band and crowd are both on the same page. It’s a great version and all the elements come together for a special moment, I hastily load up some Nu Metal tracks on Spotify for the journey home.
Finally it’s time for the local boys to take to the stage, and despite the many financial restraints that we are facing at the moment the band come out to a good crowd of excited, expectant fans. The four-piece have been around for quite a while now and have honed their craft over many years, developing their musical skills.
There is a kinship within the band and they have a chemistry that very few bands seem to be able to generate. Tonight guitarist Stevie has some kind of virus and is suffering somewhat, despite this; rather than cancelling the show he bravely carries on providing some quality riffage, carried along by his brothers in the band.
After opening number “Rise” and an early cover of Three Door Down’s “Kryptonite”, singer Simon works to rouse the audience and gets plenty of positive reactions. The band have a decent selection of original numbers that take inflences from many areas of the hard rock spectrum and the more you listen the more you hear. The bands red-headed rhythm section of Callum on bass and Aaron on drums provide the relentless backing to Stevie’s wonderfully melodic wall of sound. The politically charged “Ministry” and older number “Smoke It Away” provide some of the set’s main highlights. It’s also worth noting that Simon’s vocals seems to be pushing into new boundaries; with the notes being held for longer and with different ranges, along with some notable screams.
After a fine 12 song set the band take their bows and it is time for Stevie to take to his bed and hopefully shake off that dreaded lurgey ready for tomorrow nights gig.
Set-Lists
Regional One
Rise
Kryptonite (‘Three Doors Down’ cover)
Control
Ministry
Sold!
Chosen
Smoke It Away
Louder
Hide
Addicted To Chaos
Bedlam
Hero
One Last Day
No Chemical
This Bottle Got Me
Break Stuff (‘Limp Bizkit’ cover)
Stay Away From Me
As Time Stands Still
Not Ready To Die
It’s a Sin
I’m Here To Stay
Out of The Black
NTT
Redemption
Pictures
Monster
Transition
Nü Space
Papercut (‘Linkin Park’ cover)
Whitenoise
Wounds
Kisten
Once More (With Feeling)
BMD
Mauve
Realign
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/RegionalOneBand
https://www.facebook.com/OneLastDayOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/alwaysNTT
https://www.facebook.com/whitenoiseukband
Words by David Chinery (Chinners).
