Twisted Wheel - Wigan Indiependance Nightclub, 05/03/2010
It was inevitable that I would succumb to writing a second
instalment of Twisted Wheel’s sell out tour, Wigan was tonight
home to Oldham’s desirable, dirty rock and rollers. The Wheel
have been enriching towns and cities across the country with
their urbane, carefree, rock and roll persona. They already have
a strong back catalogue of impressive tracks that cut enough
swagger to put any generic, dull, lifeless chart-topper firmly
in the corner, wallowing in their own self indulgence.
As a band, including management and security, they go about
things in a very respectable way. Their feet remain firmly on the
ground, yet their enthusiasm, drive and ambition is certainly
commendable.
The Indiependance Nightclub genuinely has a lot to offer, the performing area itself has an eerie, vintage feel to it and creates a decent atmosphere. I wandered about a bit, gaining a feel for the venue and the Wiganers that had turned out for the gig. There was a good bunch of people there, all of which had plenty to say about the increasingly popular band.Twisted Wheel have been cast aside too many times as ‘another lad rock group’, ironically there were a great amount of suave-looking girls in attendance who were revelling in the moment. The Wheel are truly far more than a ‘lad rock’ band, whatever that sentiment insinuates. They blend indie - rock and roll anthems with classic, raw punk rock, reminiscent of Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash, Angelic Upstarts and Sex Pistols, all of which I was brought up listening to. Twisted Wheel’s similar attitude seems to have lured me in. However, they’re all extremely talented musicians with a lot to offer, which cannot be said for every punk band that took over Britain in 1977.
I snuck down the fire exit merely to relieve myself; within seconds I was met with the view of the approaching band members. I was comically forced to race back up the fire exit, before situating myself at the front. Jonny Brown, Rick Lees and Adam Clarke strolled elegantly through the crowd and launched almost instantly into ‘She’s a Weapon’. Passionate vibes surrounded the place as the crowd began to lose themselves, their mates and the drink they were holding in a sweaty cauldron of rock and roll. The fact that Twisted Wheel have showed up in many places akin to Wigan, only to be met by hundreds of rapturous fans speaks for itself. ‘Lucy the Castle’ ensured that the lads had now firmly stated their case in the Indiependance Nightclub. And with their new track ‘Postman’ sounding equally promising, the hordes of admiring Wiganers jumped around in a similar fashion to when the first pie shop opened in their typically Northern town. Despite neither of them being chosen for their debut album; ‘Racket’ and ‘Big Issue’ are both ace, punk rock tracks and went down exceptionally well on the night. I have now acquired both of these on vinyl, to say that they sound ‘outstanding’ on my old man’s record player would be an understatement.
By the time Twisted Wheel had powered through their set list to ‘You Stole the Sun’, I had now been hugged by countless strangers, male and female, all of which were evidently having the time of their lives. This is something you can rely on if you see the Oldham three piece. I’m not going to lie, when they played their final song ‘Oh What Have You Done’, I became somewhat of a loose cannon. I refrained from shouting the cliché of ‘punk’s not dead’, but I felt a similar, revolutionary vibe inside of me. As the crowd went utterly berserk, a number of bouncers began attempting to push the odd punter back from the stage. This merely intensified the delightfully, disorderly situation. It was indeed another decent gig from Twisted Wheel which seemed to blow away another town’s rock and roll population, keep it wheel boys and girls.
Connect with Joe Division HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment