Guernsey Press

The Essex way

Rock of Ages 16 welcomed Essex band Evarane and a host of local acts to the Carlton last weekend. Tom Girard reports on an event that keeps going from strength to strength...

Published

Rock of Ages 16 welcomed Essex band Evarane and a host of local acts to the Carlton last weekend. Tom Girard reports on an event that keeps going from strength to strength...

For the past three and a half years, Rock of Ages has been giving new and young Guernsey bands the chance to play alongside some of the island's more experienced acts.

The 16th event to bear the name took place last Friday and Saturday at the Carlton and featured the first visitors from the UK to play, in the form of Essex-based quintet Evarane.

The visiting group played both nights and the support slots were filled by different bands.

First on stage on Friday night were 'easycore' four-piece From Bedrooms To Backseats.

Despite having been split up by some members being off the island for the last few months, the band played one of the best sets I have seen them deliver and their style of pop punk combined with light-end metalcore really came into its own for me.

While most of the audience were reluctant to come forward at the early stage of the night, a few did venture to the front and the only criticism of the band I have was that there were times when it felt as if we were invading their practise session – they had a habit of facing each other on stage and not connecting with the audience.

2 Minutes 2 Late must by now be one of Guernsey's longest-standing rock bands, having been going for at least the last five years, and while it's slightly disappointing that they seem to have ditched their original material, there is no denying their musical tightness and ability to get a room bouncing.

Playing their usual selection of pop punk covers, alongside a few pop punk'd covers of the likes of Lady Gaga and Example, the highlights were, as ever, their versions of Blink 182's classic era tracks and Lit's My Own Worst Enemy. 2 Minutes 2 Late proved why, if you want a band who play fun pop punk, you really can't do better than them.

Third up were visitors Evarane, but more of them later.

Metalcore newcomers So Cold The River closed Friday night.

Despite being relatively new to the scene, the band have packed a fair few gigs into the last few months.

In the past I have found they may have played well but didn't seem to gel on stage, but on Friday they came across as a solid and united front and, while their brand of extreme metalcore may not be exactly to my taste, they delivered it with power and ferocity, aided by the enthusiasm from the small but dedicated bunch who remained moshing in front of the stage.

Saturday night was a slightly different state of affairs with only three bands, the first of those making their live debut and making me feel worryingly old.

The Doomsday Project are a six-piece band made up of friends from St Sampson's High and while the cynic in me could go on at length it seems superfluous as, for a band of their age and experience, they played a tight set of pop punk covers along with a couple of original tunes which showed promise of a great future for any of the members of the band.

By the end of the set they seemed pretty comfortable up on stage and although playing through their set twice to fill their time did seem a little strange, the many youngsters in attendance didn't seem to mind at all.

Rounding off Saturday night, and following Evarane, were Breaking The Silence who, in the past, have been a highlight of several Rock of Ages shows.

This time, however, the fact that they have been out of the island and not had much time to practise showed, as while a few of their set of pop punk covers (yes, more of them) still hit the spot, the majority of the set was somewhat messy and disappointing compared with their shows a year or so ago.

And so to Evarane, based in the Southend-on-Sea area of Essex and looking like they could easily be a Paramore clone.

I will admit to being somewhat sceptical before the show, but I needn't have been because once they launched into their set on Friday night it was a pleasant surprise.

Playing a similar brand of pop-metal to many bands out there at the moment, what set them apart compared with other bands I've seen was their non-cynical high-energy approach.

While they were clearly tight as a band and put a lot of work into both their songs and performance, it was obvious they were also playing music they loved and having immense fun doing it.

Another pleasant surprise was that vocalist Beka Pritchards, while looking somewhat like a Hayley Williams clone, had a much more forceful voice and didn't seem to mind getting in with the boys in terms of energetic performance.

This energy also transferred to the audience, who were packed to the front of the stage throughout both nights and broke into a mosh on several occasions. Following the set, there seemed an enthusiasm from both band and audience to see them back on the island as soon as possible.

While Saturday night's performance was a little less tight, it still had the same energy and got the crowd moving and on top of being very good on stage, the band came across as genuine and in it for the right reasons, too. While this is likely to be the last Rock of Ages until after the summer festival season, and while the audience could (as always) have been bigger, it served as a good send-off for the next few months and did what it has always set out to do: showcase new and more-experienced bands in a larger than usual venue and give the island's youngsters a chance to experience live music they might otherwise miss out on.

  • Tom Girard is the presenter/producer of BBC Introducing Guernsey. You can hear the programme on the last Wednesday of every month on BBC Guernsey at 7pm.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.