The success of George Best 30 has heightened expectations for Bizarro’s anniversary tour. Alongside this, new material keeps developing and whetting our stones with Gedge’s signature sharp wit, and his even sharper riffs. Truth be told, The Wedding Present have surpassed expectations.
Perhaps owing to the new singles, and their more aggressive sound, the Bizarro 30th anniversary tour is even more energetic than than the last. Not only is seeing the band in action energising, with every speedy strum accompanied by a swell of applause, butseeing Gedge (and the wonderful Doris McGedge) at the merch stand proves that time doesn’t necessarily dull the stone. The band are near legend status, if not far beyond it. Yet, they’ve avoided the passionless path laid by other pop infused underground punk acts.
It’s not only old bands, with their last hurrahs, that could learn something from the latter day Wedding Present. The modern indie scene is mostly sterile, especially in comparison to its 80s forefather (sharing more sonic similarities with hardcore and punk than modern indie). The Wedding Present are not only a gift, but their sound is entirely present. The new stuff is as aggro and fun as ever, more comparable with the cutting edge crunchy electronica than with modern indie.
The Wedding Present floors the stage as ever, and really set a standard that most other bands, in rock or in pop, can’t live up to without delving into electronics. It might not be a bad thing to see bands trying to emulate the aggression and pure energy of modern electronica, but it’s sad that bands like The Wedding Present don’t get heard anymore.
[Tim Dawson – @theblutit]
[Image Credit: Tim Dawson]
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