Live Review: Marmozets - The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth 07/11/2017
After cancelling a string of shows at the end of October due to front woman Becca suffering from Bronchitis, Marmozets return to Bournemouth refreshed and ready to tear the Old Fire Station apart.
Kicking off the two band line up are Liverpool based punk rockers Queen Zee And The Sasstones. Notable for their transgender singers outrageous Queen Zee persona, and their strong support of the LGBTQ community, Queen Zee And The Sasstones are causing quite a stir in the UK scene. But does the music live up to the buzz?
If tonight's performance is anything to go by, then the answer is an absolute yes. The band perform their unique brand of pink punk with an effortless swagger, and the audience is transfixed from the first moments. They play with enough raw energy to bring the punk element to what is at its heart very melodic and catchy music, keeping things engaging throughout the set.
It must be said that the sound in the venue could have been cleaned up, as both bands suffered from an at times muddy mix, but despite this minor niggle Queen Zee And The Sasstones still sounded and looked great. One highlight of the set was Fly The Pink Flag, accompanied by a powerful speech about shunning homophobia and transphobia, this is a ferocious track full of venom and raw power. It isn't just the instrumentation that creates the raw punk energy, both the lead guitarist and keyboard player contribute vocals, and the three voices work together creating a vicious combination of shouts, shrieks and snarls.
Overall this was a solid performance, an exciting combination of a positive message and a unique punk sound. Queen Zee And The Sasstones are definitely a band to watch in the future.
There is a palpable sense of excitement in the venue as Marmozets take the stage, only amplified by the few weeks the fans have had to wait since the original cancelled show. Judging by Becca's vocal performance tonight, this postponement was the right decision as you would never have known she was having issues only a few weeks before. Opening with a build of white noise helping the atmosphere reach fever pitch, the band burst on stage and launch into Play, the first single released from their upcoming album Knowing What You Know Now. This track was an epic statement of the performance to come, and the crowd were eating this up from the very start. It was telling that even a new track like Play got such a great crowd reaction, with movement and sing alongs showing we should all be looking forward to their new release.
Next up was their classic track Move.Shake.Hide which worked the crowd into even more of a frenzy. The band were unbelievably tight throughout their set, handling their regular time signature and tempo changes with an effortless ease, and putting their all into every note. Each band member performs with great energy, even the drummer Josh climbs on his kit at various points to get the crowd clapping along.
Becca is a fantastic frontwoman, delivering harsh screams and perfect cleans, as well as the ability to work a crowd. A highlight of crowd interaction was the end of Captivate You, where the crowd carried on singing that songs epic chorus after the band had finished playing the song, to their obvious delight.
Closing out with an encore of the manic Vibetech, and leaving the crowd in a state of bedlam, Marmozets show they are one of the best young rock bands in the Uk at the moment, and I for one can't wait to hear the new album. These guys are only going to get bigger, and a show like this could easily fill a much larger stage, which I have a feeling they are going to in the next few years.
Review and Photography by Lauren Harris