SLAVES @ The Blind Tiger, Brighton. 27/03/2013

The launch night of Sharing Needles was a bit of a flop despite its solid lineup. It was so cold outside, it was Wednesday, the first band started an hour and a half later than expected, next big thing Slaves played to a near empty room and it was obviously under-promoted. It’s a shame because all three bands tonight deserve to be playing their songs to more people than just the other bands, a handful of friends and the bar staff.

Eventual openers Zoëtrope are an all-girl grungey, riot grrrly group. Pretty noisy and angry in all the best ways, they sound like they’ve listened to a lot of Sleater-Kinney. Their music video played on loop as a backdrop and was psychedelic in a “woah, acid!” kind of way. My favourite of theirs was the one where the drummer sang “Don’t fucking look at me!” as it reminded me of any of the Crass tracks that have Eve Libertine on vocals, which is never a bad thing.

I Like The Gogo step it up a notch with their guitar and drums combo banging out raw, pure garage punk party tunes that are ideal for drinking beer to. Sure, they do a relatively similar thing to Slaves, but I Like The Gogo fit perfectly on the bill next to them and are worth keeping an eye on. It’s a shame it wasn’t busier tonight as they provide they perfect soundtrack for it all to start kicking off.

With the few people in attendance slightly more inebriated, Slaves played to a slightly more rewarding “crowd” that were keen on a drunken dance. A set that peaked with ‘White Knuckle Ride’ and the excellent ‘Beauty Quest’ prove why they’re a band you’re going to be hearing a lot about. Slaves have a real punk attitude that takes indie rock by its tiny, shriveled balls and tells it to stop being a pussy. It really was a shame that hardly anybody came out for this gig because this band truly deserve better. The following night Slaves were to play a Vice magazine party in London, which I’m sure would’ve been mental in comparison. Tonight they performed only to a few people, but at least I’ll have that story to tell when these guys blow up.