176 Records are fast becoming my favourite promoters. They
constantly put on fantastic gigs for very affordable prices and have made a
brilliant little scene in the process. Tonight would be no different,
headlining at The Montague Arms in South London would be Olympia Washington’s RVIVR
with support from Muncie Girls and Young Attenborough.
Tonight 176 Records were also doing something a little
different to normal. They had got involved with a foundation named The Trussell
Trust who run food banks. Food Banks are a great way of preventing some of the
13 million people in the UK who are on the poverty line. Tonight the good folks at 176 Records were
asking everyone attending the gig to bring some food with them to donate to The
Trussell Trust. This was a very successful scheme as when I arrived at The
Montague Arms there was already a massive pile of food that had been donated. I
added mine to the pile (which travelled all the way from Colchester with me, I
was slightly miffed to discover the Tesco Express right outside Queens Road
Peckham tube station that I could have easily brought the food from rather than
carrying it across the country) and headed towards the stage where Young
Attenborough had just started playing.
The stage at The Montague is really high up for a venue like
this and I thought that this was great, not being the tallest of gentleman I
sometimes find it difficult to get a decent view of the stage at a smaller
venue but I could see Brighton three piece Young Attenborough perfectly. These
three young men play some brilliant power pop/punk and you should really check
them out. All three band members take it in turns to sing which is something
that I love – even the drummer gets involved which is great. Speaking of which,
Young Attenborough’s drummer really stood out for me, playing some fantastic
beats. Young Attenborough are a band with a whole lot of promise.
Up next was a more established act in the UK punk scene –
Exeter’s Muncie Girls. It’s safe to say that 2014 has been a great year for the
band having released a fantastic split with Great Cynics, shared the stage with
the likes of Masked Intruder and Iron Chic, a debut performance at the Reading
and Leeds festivals and a spot at The Fest in Florida at the end of October.
Muncie Girls indie infused pop punk goes down a storm at the Montague Arms,
every song is played perfectly and lead singer Lande’s vocals are as good live
as they are on record. Drummer Like Ellis really stood out for me as well, this
guy really loves drumming, he had the biggest grin on his face throughout the
set and it’s a awesome thing to see. When you see a band enjoying what they are
doing it’s infectious and it’s really hard for the crowd not to enjoy it as
well. Highlights of the set for me were The Real You, Railroad and Kasper and
Randow. If Muncie Girls continue to progress like they have been it won’t be
long until they are household names such is the talent in this band.
RVIVR’s last full length album The Beauty Between is one of
my favourite albums released in the last couple of years, it’s full of some
punk rock gems that as well as being extremely catchy have some real deep
meaning to them. Last month they released a brand new EP titled Bicker and
Breathe (which I reviewed here) and was another very strong release. I was very
excited to see them again having witnessed them last year at The Black Heart in
Camden. Like the bands before them RVIVR looked really excited to be playing at
The Montague Arms tonight and were grinning from ear to ear as soon as they
launched into opening song The Seam as were the crowd. Personally I had been
feeling really rubbish all week but couldn’t help but smile along with RVIVR.
For those who don’t know RVIVR are co fronted by Erica Freas (who I reviewed
live here) and Matty Jo Canino, either taking it in turns to sing a verse of a
song or singing together. Either way it sounds great and really makes sets them
apart from most other punk bands. Like a lot of punk bands RVIVR have songs
about politics and capitalism (namely new song 20 Below which is about people
being homeless when other people have more than one house) but a bigger theme
with the band is how everything is not always black and white, a lot of the
time there is a grey area. This is something I really love about RVIVR, how
brave they are to stand up and say that it’s okay not to be one thing or
another and it’s absolutely fine to feel like the odd one out. More than likely
there are plenty of other people in the same situation. RVIVR really killed it
on stage, despite telling us their voices were “trashed” they sounded great,
even better than the last time I had seen them. The sold out Montague Arms
crowd adored them singing along with every single word with fists high in the
air. For the encore a human pyramid was made by some of the ladies down the
front which the band loved and there was also some rowing the boat. RVIVR are a
really important band who not only constantly make excellent songs but also
have some incredibly important messages for people. Every song was great but
stand out tracks for me were Seethin’, Party Queen, Wrong Way/One Way and
Change On Me.
This was yet another fantastic gig put on by 176 records.
All three bands had been great and a lot of good was done for The Trussell
Trust. This was something I love about the punk rock scene, a lot of strangers
coming together for a great cause and a fantastic night.
Learn more about The Trussell Trust here: http://www.trusselltrust.org/
Check out RVIVR here: https://rvivr.bandcamp.com/
Check out Muncie Girls here: https://munciegirls.bandcamp.com/
Check out Young Attenborough here: https://youngattenborough.bandcamp.com/
Check out 176 Records here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/176-Records/201196669930366
Now listening to Tallest Tree by RVIVR
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