Voodoo Glow Skulls, Union 13, Nerve @ Zelda's World: Punk & Stuff

Voodoo Glow Skulls / Union 13 / Nerve Date: Monday 7th May 2001 Venue&~58; King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
Local heroes Nerve have been getting some very good press recently; even being hailed as Glasgow's answer to Green Day. They certainly think highly of themselves anyway; encouraging the crowd to applaud more, applaud louder, to cheer and generally to jump around with excitement because Nerve are playing. They have some nice guitar pop songs and are very enthusiastic about what they're doing but I'm just not convinced. Or maybe Glasgow doesn't really need an answer to Green Day, especially not one with huge egos.

Union 13, on the other hand, know how to remain humble and kick ass at the same time. Unfortunately most of the crowd would appear to be here for headliners Voodoo Glow Skulls and don't seem to be familiar with Union 13's Latino, hardcore onslaught. Union 13 don't seem to mind the lack of crowd participation or the dodgy sound mix, which is almost overcome by Edward's vocal style; essentially tuneful shouting that's typical of melodic hardcore bands with a social conscience. This style and speed renders most of the lyrics incoherent and also makes it difficult to tell the Spanish and English songs apart, but it's not difficult to recognise a good tune and cool attitude and the inclusion of some well-timed 'woahs' doesn't hurt. Halfway through their Spanish version of Rancid's 'Roots Radicals' though there seems to be a bit of recognition and by the end of their set I think the crowd is finally impressed enough to respond with some more enthusiastic applause.

Madness ensues as the main band open their set and the crowd is a bit livelier too. Voodoo Glow Skulls play with loads of energy and it's pretty hard to resist their difficult to describe sound, but I reckon 'punk, Latino-flavoured, ska, metal music, with a hint of the fairground that's played incredibly fast' comes pretty close. The stage seems too small to accommodate the six lively band members, but this just makes it all the more interesting to watch. They also sing some of the songs in Spanish, which really doesn't make much difference to the overall sound as it's probably too fast to make out the lyrics anyway. Mid-set the singer informs us that they are playing "Ska thrash music", ah right, that's what I meant to say. Whatever it is, it's irresistibly catchy, fast and fun and makes you want to jump around like a maniac.
Zelda
Voodoo Glow Skulls Official website Union 13 Official website Nerve Official website