Tiger Army / Deadline / Buzzkill

Last time Buzzkill played here they were in the smaller room supporting the now defunct Jesse James. This time they’re in the larger room (and if you ask me the room with the worst acoustics of the two) to support the mighty Tiger Army.

Not many people are here to watch them; a real shame, as they give it their all. Unfortunately there is a problem with the saxophone meaning we don’t get to see Matt Perrot strut his stuff, and this leaves half a brass section by the name of Ben Whittington, who’s trumpet can barely be heard except during his fiddly solos.

Matt Colmer holds the whole thing together, and although he appears a little too influenced by the playing style of a certain B.J. Armstrong, the sound of the band is a lot heavier. ‘Dog On A Leash’ is a catchy sing-a-long track, and album title track ‘Driven By Loss’ is an upbeat song with just the right amounts of each instrument to create a 50’s rock and roll/ska party.


A few more people (namely fellas) venture past the bar as it becomes clear that the next band have a female singer. My friend liked the look of the t-shirts and could not decide between beer and cotton, but upon seeing the band get on stage (before a note was played) he was coppering up to buy one.

Deadline have it all; stage presence, attitude, great visible team work and female vocals to die for (think Cinder Block from Tilt/Fabulous Disaster). As soon as they hit the stage the crowd go berserk; hanging on singer Liz’s every word. A cover of a track by Leeds punks The Mingers goes down well with the many mohicaned dancers down front.

Their brand of street punk was thought to be fading in the UK, but they proved to be a hit in their native London, and also in Germany and the US. They continually thank the crowd down at the front, which has swelled somewhat since they started.

When Liz comments that they would stay behind after but they haven’t had anything to eat and were starving, a voice yells out “you look like you’ve never eaten!” Is that the best heckling this Leeds crowd have got? Just goes to show that they nor I can not find any faults with this band.



Now there’s a lot of very dolled up ladies about tonight. Not really burlesque style but pretty close; bright 50’s dresses, strong makeup, long cigarette holders (not a good idea in a mosh pit). This confuses me as I am new to the sound of Tiger Army and I expect a hardcore punk bashing of the ear lobes.

As soon as they start I realise I couldn’t have been more wrong. Many have said that the first time you see Tim Armstrong you imagine Rancid to be a really tough, hard as nails punk band. What you get is a unique sound to go with the look; that of catchy ska punk. Well this is similar in a way; after Armstrong signed them to his Hellcat Records label Tiger Army have been free to tour the world and convert disillusioned people like myself to their 50’s influenced punk.

I thought Nick 13, with his name, pout and many tattoos would spout out this gruff spit-fuelled holler that would make scaredy cats out of all of us. Instead he has a tremendously sweet voice (I don’t mean to soften your image here), which goes into a little warble now and again. Quite charming actually. When he leaves the mic alone to do a few solos and pulls the punk faces he looks how I first imagined, but talk about stuffing-up your stereotypes!

Jeff Roffredo is looking good in his shades and tapping away on his double bass. The sound is not as meaty as that of a bass guitar, and from the front you can sometimes hear him slapping the strings over the sound of the instruments, but he is bloody good on that stringed-beast. James Meza is a treat on the drums too, pounding away to the varying tempos of this aptly-named psychobilly band.


13’s song-writing skills are apparent; he has managed to create beautiful melodies and mix them with vintage punk and rock and roll. The sounds keep you hooked all the way through the short set. ‘Rose of the Devil's Garden’ and ‘Annabel Lee’ are crowd favourites, but the real crunch point came just before the encore with ‘Never Die’, leaving the crowd to chant these two words during the song and after until they return for one more song.

I will definitely be listening to their old albums and upcoming ‘Music From Regions Beyond’. It’s a refreshing change to see a band like this and with so many creative songs. And as 13 says, “it’s nice to see skinheads, punks, rockers all together having a good time, that’s what it’s all about”. Too right.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.