DB68, Minus 3, The Peoples Alibi, Mutley, DNR @ Zelda's World: Punk & Stuff

DB68 / Minus Three / The Peoples Alibi / Mutley / DNR Wednesday 28th August 2002 The Cathouse, Glasgow
	DNR are already nearing the end off their set by the time I arrive at The Cathouse and the singer is asking, "Does anyone like Green Day, The Clash or The Ramones?" Guilty on all counts, I'm intrigued to say the least. He then says something about us having to pogo as they start to play a song that I'm sure was released long before he was even born; the classic 'Blitkrieg Bop'. A young punky guy decked out in biker jacket with dyed, spiky hair moves down the front to show his appreciation but not content with that he then joins them on stage, only leaving of his own accord when he sees the bouncer approach; no doubt avoiding the humiliation of wrestling with a big, stony faced man who quite obviously wouldn't even care if he was a member of Green Day, The Clash or The Ramones.

	Although I think that during their set the next young band say they are NOFX, I'm pretty sure they are actually called Mutley. They take to the stage with one of their members strapping on an accordion; well this is gonna be different for sure. But it's only for a short introduction and is quickly cast aside as some very fast guitar-based songs follow, although I did hear someone shouting for them to "Bring the accordion back!!". There are some backing 'woahs' that are loudly delivered by the bassist with a gleeful expression and a couple of songs that are slightly slower as they head towards the latter part of their set but mostly it's all out, with a few ska tinges here and there.

	After their instrumental introduction The Peoples Alibi play a song that I'm starting to recognise as one that I really like; its got tongue-twister lyrics which Tommy sings really fast, hardly stopping for breath and then at the chorus guitarist Joe sings his guts out, of course, it is 'Feed Off Your Aggression' and it rocks. During 'Everyday' a cymbal comes loose but drummer Dave just chucks it over his head where it lands with an almighty crash and remains there until the end of the song when it gets fixed. He also seems to be losing a few drumsticks too, but manages to continue playing whilst laughing to himself. 'New Militia' is the one where Tommy leaves down his guitar and tonight he takes full advantage of the extra space as he jumps over the whole stage like a man possessed, long limbs flying around. I'd say that musically they have become much tighter (and a bit faster too?) than when they recorded their live demo earlier this year and they also look a lot more at home on stage as they appear to be developing into an all round, impressive live band. It's all too soon that they play out with 'Reason 2 Believe' and 'No Explanation' which now has some chants of "Oi! Oi! Oi!" to add to it's grittiness. And as it was my new favourite band, The Peoples Alibi, that I had come to see I'm now ready to head for home, but there are still two more bands to play.

	I think I'd have enjoyed Minus Three if they'd played earlier on tonight (well before my new favourite band anyway!) as they seem to have a kind of Ramones inspired sound, which is backed up by the singers Ramones t-shirt, the addition of a "Gabba Gabba Hey" into one song and for the second time this evening a cover of 'Blitzkrieg Bop'. All of that might give you the impression that they are some uninspired Ramones copy band but this is not the case. Sure, there are a couple of songs that sound distinctly like the Ramones but there are also a few more that don't, including one that is credited to the bassist and is about porn. I'm also sure that when introducing the band to us the singer said he was a wagonwheel, either that or all these versions of 'Blitzkrieg Bop' is having a bizarre effect on me. Rounding of tonight's bill with their poppy sing-along style is DB68. The last time I saw them they finished with a cover of a Britney song, so already being renowned for covering the (ahem) classics, I am quite expecting them to join in on the whole 'Blitzkrieg Bop' action but they manage to surprise us all and cover the much more recent and appropriate to their style Alkaline Trio song 'Private Eye'.
	Zelda
	The Peoples Alibi website Minus Three website DNR website