Manboob supported by Peanukle and Borderline
Thursday 21 February 2002, The Tavern, Letchworth.

The Tavern adopted a strict age check, and their regulars were not the most supportive of crowds, although the sound was good from the amps at this smaller venue.

I’ve seen BORDERLINE quite a few times now - backing various bands, and they never fail to amaze me how good they are, they have such a strong, and professional sound. It was a crying shame they never got in to the semi finals of ‘Battle of the Bands’ - along with Penuckle!

Some of the locals were heckling the band - mostly about the bands young age. If he had said anything to me I would have asked him to try getting up on stage himself! When they realised no one was laughing and just how good they were they soon shut up! The singer put in a really good vocal effort and did not drop the loud punk style just because it was only a pub gig. The instruments sound spot on, the drumming really stood out as being quite skilful. The drum + vocals seem to have all the stage presence while the guitars take a background stance, looking quite maudlin while playing - good bass, and lead work nonetheless. They did a cover of ‘Wild thing’ and their own ‘ Going home’ to great effect. I thought they were finishing but came back for more encores - a pity there was no mosh pit as this band always have the potential to get the crowd going.

Although more used to playing to a younger crowd I thought they had a tough deal opening a pub gig, especially as some of the older locals gave them a tough time to begin with. Whenever I see Borderline I’m always amazed to believe such a strong and fantastic sound generates from what I see on stage. If they are this good now - just how good are they going to be in the future! “It makes me wonder how such small looking figures throw so vast a shadow?”

You could never call PEANUKLE a boring band - this being a particularly entertaining set, difficult to believe they started off as a death metal act ‘as their lead singer claims’ - especially as he usually looks as happy as a swamp donkey on a crack binge! Its good to see a band that moves about on stage - with Penuckle you get just that, even with a limited space the lead singer throws himself about demonstrating his old skater moves, jumping round as if on an invisible skateboard, along with pointy rave style movements and those sometimes eccentric staring eyes ad a dimension to a natural and able front man his singing was a bit off key his throat dried at times, I know he can sing better, (as I once heard him at a sound check at Esquires with a rock n roll type song showing he can do various styles and can defiantly sing as well !) The bass was quite effective although the other guitarist didn’t seem to have much stage presence. The horn section was back, with Mohawk and colourful shirt clad player. I know some people don’t like the horn section, but I think it was quite effective, and gave some variation to the sound at this particular pub venue. Penuckle seem to do a lot of covers ( including a few dead Kennedy’s) along with their own stuff. To ad to the entertainment, young Alexi Sayle lookalike Granny T from Manboob was asked up on stage - I thought it was good the way he shuffled about looking board before lunging in to this strange ape like act behind the mike joining in with the OY! OY! parts of the song.

I cant recall seeing MANBOOB before - which is strange as I seem to remember their song Incy Wincy Spider song accompanied by Granny T’s Spider impression (you had to be there). They have quite an accomplished drummer - hailing from ‘Insomnia’, complete with wads of cotton wool in his ears, which he wore throughout - skilful bit of drumming nonetheless. Joe from Borderline returned to do guitar and vocal backing. I’ll have to vote him man of the match - in both beginning and end sets ‘like the bread of this Penuckle sandwich!’

The singing from Joe was hampered when his mike fell off the stand at one point to be repositioned by another band member. Manboob all sported vests for the gig - Joe looked quite dwarfed in his. Just as I was beginning to think that the guitars were not sounding all that effective, and just strumming along. They burst in to blinding syncronised twin playing along with twin vocals together also, the complimenting harmonies of which made even the slower songs work ok.

Keith Pickering