Ok, let's start by being honest here, I've just returned home tonight having seen a great gig featuring Blatoidea, Dogsflesh, and the the punk legends (a term I don't use loosely), TOTAL CHAOS on August 14, 2014 at the Blackheart in Camden Town. Yea, you have to use capitals or they'll be offended. And I'm pretty wasted, having partied with the bands long into the night in Camden Town after they kick us out of the venue.
I'm going to start this review in reverse— So after the show I was backstage with Rob Chaos, and we were chatting about the punk scene in London, and he seems a bit down. He tells me that gigs in other European cities are a lot better, and that's pretty hard to hear for me. Because even though there wasn't much of a crowd out tonight, you could tell that there was some die hard fans amongst the small rabble. Having said that, it is a Thursday night after all, and I hope tonight's turnout isn't a reflection on their popularity in England. This is a band that featured on the first Epitaph compilation "Punk o Rama" compilation after all, with the anthem "Riot City", and that to me means legendary status. They have a presence and history that few would understand, and if only a few more of the punks in London realised that, maybe there'd be more of a turnout tonight.
At the show, though, there are some hardcore fans out though, and there's no shortage of massive mohawks, and hair that reaches the ceiling, plus studded jackets that would impale your eyeball after a mis—timed pogo. Yeah, the place looks a little dead, but who cares, TOTAL CHAOS are great, and fuckin' LOUD. Rob Chaos plays the crowd in a blasé kind of way, but they respond, and that seems to perk him up. Shawn Smash's guitar is tight, and backed up by Miguel on drums and Mike on bass, they sound great. It's a great gig from a sound perspective, and you can tell you're watching a band that's been doing this for years. Yeah, it's a hardcore punk band, but we live in times now where we expect good sound and tight performances, and we got that tonight. Regardless of the bands opinions, there will always be an audience for this stuff, and I hope the guys appreciated the response tonight.
A mention must go to Blatoidea, who were bloody awesome, and great lads as well. They warmed the stage up perfectly for Dogsflesh, and either the crowd were tired after Blatoideas' set, or no one gave a shit about Dogsflesh, but anyway there were about 5 times the audience members for the former, and rightly so.
Great night, proper hardcore punk, and great to hang out with Rob of TOTAL CHAOS, hope everything perks up for the guy, he's got a lot to offer to world of punk rock.