A View From The Back Of The Room: The Treatment

The Treatment, Buffalo Summer & Massive, Clwb Ifor Bach

So another gig in my hometown (Thank Christ!) and this one was real doozy, three young rock bands flying the flag for rock and roll in the face of many that say rock is dead (Yes you Mr Simmons!). As the lights went down the first band hit the stage

Massive

The trials of support band are well documented, playing gigs to five or six people, most of whom are uninterested in what the hell is going. This is all standard fare for a band in the opening slot, not for Aussie's Massive (or is it MASSIVE), they dove straight into their ballsy brand of AC/DC meets G'N'R snarling rock and roll and went for the jugular with first song Burn The Sun then ploughing straight into Dancefloor. The crowd garnered as these four Australians worked themselves into a whirling dervish of riffs similar to that Antipodean Devil Warner Bros gave us. The between song banter was short sweet and completely incomprehensible but the bands songs spoke for themselves, smash and grab drums of Jarrod Medwin, the thumping bass of Aidan McGarrigle, the smoking leads and solos of  Ben Laguda and finally the whole testosterone fuelled, attitude lace rock and roll cavalcade is fronted by firecracker frontman Brad Marr on rhythm and vocals. Having a self aggrandising name like Massive can be a curse however it's both a blessing and prophecy for these Aussie madmen. Mark my words they will be Massive soon enough! 8/10

Buffalo Summer

A small change of pace was required after the muscular man rock of Massive and Buffalo Summer provided it perfectly. This Welsh quartet have been getting bigger an bigger on every tour and with good reason; the band play the same kind of 70's style hard rock that was always favoured by Zeppelin and Free as well as more modern acts like The Answer. However the band are much more than just a pastiche to the past they bring a modern edge to proceedings adding some heavier elements to their sound and also a tonne of funk that lends many of their songs a sound not too dissimilar to Extreme. Jonny (guitar), Andrew (vocals), Darren (bass) and Gareth (drums) all gel togetehr perfectly to give real guts to songs like A Horse Called Freedom, Ain't No Other, Rolls On Through as well as the bayou stomp of Down To The River which got everyone stomping and clapping like a revival. Yet another home grown rock band showing that rock is still alive and well and at this gig particularly giving  a great bluesy, funk laden break in between the riotous rock a roll with some sublime classic rock straight from the Page and Plant copy book. 8/10

The Treatment

I've seen the Treatment evolve on stage from long haired teenagers to the stylised, focussed, precision rock machine they are now. As the lights went down the speakers jumped to life with Swords Of A Thousand Men which in my opinion is one of the best drinking/fighting/attitude songs of all time. As the crowd bellowed along the band appeared on stage decked out in their Sex Pistols leathers oozing attitude from every pour. The song cut dead (it is only three minutes long) and I Bleed Rock And Roll was (obviously) the first song, it's a declarative statement with AC/DC style riff getting heads banging and fists pumping. The band definitely have the look as I've said with frontman Matt doing his best M Shadows meets Axl Rose throughout, but what the band also do is stun you with just how accomplished they are musically, their song writing is great and their live delivery is flawless. Special kudos to the guitarists Dee Dammers and Tagore Grey who both gurn for their lives as they kick out the riffage for tracks like Emergency, the filthy The Doctor, the clarion call of Drink, Fuck, Fight and the mini epic The Outlaw before they played Running With The Dogs which is pure distilled punk rock. The set was well paced leaning heavily their excellent new album, the climax of the set came with Get The Party On which encouraged the (quite large) crowd to drink like it was Saturday night (it was in fact Wednesday) before Shake The Mountain made the roof come off. After being hit with nearly and hour of pure rock and roll all conducted by a band that have grown into a great, polished live act, the crowd caught their breath as the encore came with the lighter waving sing along Nothing To Lose But Our Minds. Next time they tour do your self a favour and see The Treatment live, this is what rock and roll is about! 8/10

So with a bill of three young rock bands, all of whom gave their all for rock and roll, I can say that ignore what the detractors say rock is still alive and kicking ladies and gents!!