Page 29 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 110

BV110 pg 28-31 Zebrahead.qxp_BV110 pg 29 17/05/2024 22:59 Page 2

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“This is normal. I’ve seen her dislocate every joint possible, and she’ll still get up and dance. She looks like a teddy bear, but she’s as hard as nails.”
We spotted Georgina before the show with a walking stick, so it’s a real testament to her strength to get on stage and give it her all every night. She
smiles from ear to ear; you can tell she loves what she gets to do. With crowd participation in songs such as ‘Rebound’, Millie Manders and The
Shutup do a great job at warming the crowd up, as well as inspiring you to grab a ticket for their upcoming headline tour. Job done.
‘Jump On Demand’ is the perfect song for tonight. It’s energetic, doing what it says on the tin, and not allowing anyone to just stay standing still.
[Spunge] originally formed in the 90s and, 30 years later, they are still going strong. The Tewkesbury band call Birmingham their second home, and
have a lot of support here. ‘Don’t Ruin My Day’, ‘Roots’, ‘Some Suck, Some Rock’ and ‘Idols’ are dynamic, sounding better now than they did when
they were first written. They get a long set with the ‘Skanking Song’, their cover of ‘Monkey Man’, and the infamous ‘Kicking Pigeons’ at the pinnacle.
“Make a lot of noise if you think that Slam Dunk Midlands should come back,” they say. We definitely do. But, even if it doesn’t, this is a great evening
for pop-punk fans that helps bridge the gap.
Teenage Bottlerocket have a rowdier punk rock sound –
and rowdiness appears to be the name of the game, as the
band have to stop the show a couple of songs in when a ker-
fuffle kicks off in the middle of the crowd. “Everybody be cool
to each other,” frontman Ray Carlisle says to the crowd, before
they continue with ‘Bigger Than Kiss’. Raw riffage, chanty vo-
cals, and powerhouse drums help stoke up a rapid-fire circle
pit. Ray jumps from the drum riser numerous times, while
bassist Miguel Chen does a headstand at one point.
‘They Call Me Steve’ and ‘Radio’ are fist-in-the-air an-
thems, while the quartet speed things up for the belligerent
‘Fatso Goes Nutzoid’. Their influences come out in the form of
The Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, they play their guitars behind
their heads, and ‘Necrocomicon’ ends the set with more tem-
pestuous instrumentation.

“We are mother fucking Ze-
brahead,” calls out frontman Ali
Tabatabaee, as the Californian
headliners step onto the stage
and launch into the full-on, frantic
rampage that is ‘When Both Sides
Suck, We’re All Winners’. The
band now includes Adrian Estrella
on vocals and guitar, who con-
tributes melodic vocals and
rhythm guitar playing. His smooth
singing tone helps ‘No Tomorrow’,
‘Hello Tomorrow’ and, especially,
‘Lay Me To Rest’, to really bloom
and shine. A member of the crew
sprays bubbles over the front of
the audience with a bubble gun,
as the crowd bathes in the de-
lightful pop-punk tunes. They’re
asked to crouch down before
jumping up again, and sway arms
from side to side.

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