Ritual - 10th June 2010

Thursday nights at the City Bar, Chester have become exactly what they say on the tin........a ritual!! How many other venues can put on 4-5 bands for £1 entry before 9pm and £3 after 9pm??? There arent many!! Ok the venue's intimate at best and at times doesnt smell too nice, but every week Ritual is a top quality night not to be missed!!! I got to the City Bar a little early, and with previous knowledge that at least one band had already pulled out with short notice, I was expecting a night of few surprises. Imagine my delight then when I got there to see local Evo Rooms and BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend heroes I Am Austin warming up!!!! A wry grin crossed my face lets put it that way!!! 30 minutes later the Austin boys were ready to rock!!! I must be honest now and admit this was my first time seeing I Am Austin live (I hold my head in shame), but from the get go I realised that I'd so been missing out. This was a set played off the cuff, with no set list or any sort of plan of what song was coming next.......in fact the next song was always decided on by bass player Adam Hughes, which brought great amusement when drummer and vocalist Dave Mitchell couldnt remember how one song started!!! All in all this was an fantastic performance done off the cuff, and where the Public Enemy says 'Dont Believe The Hype'........with these guys you better believe it!!! Then it was time for We Shiver. Driven on by the already mentioned Adam Hughes' mastery on the bass, We Shiver exploded into life to liven up the late arrivers to the City Bar. Everything was good in their performance from impressive drumming from Farris, while Dave Thomas' vocal were as impressive as Ive heard him......even if let down at times by a dodgy mic. This was a true assault on my ears.......but my ears liked it!! For the next band I might just write, 'Obelisks......end of'!!! This is the 3rd occasion ive had the pleasure of being sucked into revolutionary mirky world of Obelisk-ville. Ok this wasnt their best performance, but even a below par performance is pretty dam shit hot by these guys!! Now belting out new tracks in preparation of their EP launch at the end of July, Obelisks lifted the roof (well ceiling!!) off the City Bar. The venom these guys knock out is truly impressive, considering there is only 3 members to the band, and you just cant take your eyes off lead singer David Cosens!!! Mesmerising!!! Last but not least was Shinobi's Last Vendetta. Now I must say I felt a little sorry for these guys, as by the time they went on (approx 11.15pm) the bowels of the City Bar had almost emptied onto the cool streets of Chester. Fuck that though these guys didnt care whether there was 10 people or 100 there, they still ripped into a set of enormous hardcore ear bashing!!! This was the 2nd time Ive seen SLV, and the first time was beset with technical problems which spoilt their performance. Tonight was very different, with every song belted out like it was their last chance to reach the masses. Maybe to prove a point to me, lead singer Adam Robinson's vocals were spot on throughout..........apart from one point where he lost his voice ;)!!! A truly immense performance to complete another top notch night at the City Bar!! And relax........................... D :)