Bromheads Jacket
The Engine Rooms
5 December 2006
The Engine Rooms is an intimate venue which is great for the true music fan who enjoys getting up close and personal to a band. The Oxfam Glamour Models take it the other way; they use the opportunity to get close and personal to their audience. The band are a five piece made up of teenage angst, they are never going to win any prestigious prizes in orchestration, but what they lack in musical ability they make up with pure unadulterated enthusiasm. The lead singer drawls like a young Mark E Smith while the band go literally crazy around him, the guitarist takes time out to leave the stage and acquaint himself with the audience. There is no melody, which is at first disconcerting, but you find yourself being dragged into a party of thrashing guitars over pneumatic drums. The set is fairly short which is probably not too much of a bad thing as after too much of this your ears will bleed. The guitarist again decides to go AWOL and climbs on the lighting and uses the rigging like a monkey bar. He tells the crowd he is a trained professional and not to try this stunt at home, hmm.
Bromheads Jacket enter the stage to rapturous applause, I can honestly say I have never seen the Engine Rooms this full. The lead singer connects with audience well making amusing small talk during songs. The music is reminiscent of the Clash, the guitars are melodic yet played hard and fast. The lyrics to the songs depict social commentary much like Jamie T and Joe Strummer. The music is modern punk and resonates with the young crowd. Headbanging is the order of the day, or it would be if there were any room to do so, a longhaired lad is invited on stage by the charismatic frontman Tim. He has been invited on stage to indulge in a bit of headbanging and he duly responds by performing his gig-orientated ritual. Songs like 'Hazy In Yately' and 'Trip To The Golden Arches' reveals an intelligence about this band. They are a Sheffield outfit and like their fellow townsfolk the Arctic Monkeys have a good grasp of the social climate. 'Fight Music For The Fight' is a great heavy punk song with lots of energy and plenty of wailing guitar. The frontman Tim asks for a show of hands for people who have to catch a train home, about two dozen put up their hands, the last train is usually about 11:30, though no one here wanted the band to finish. After a rousing set Tim surfs the crowd, in a venue like the Engine Rooms believe me this is not easy, though a great ending to a great gig.
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