Post by Darby on Jul 30, 2006 13:30:25 GMT
This Review is from the Offical Battle of the Bands Website, given by the Offical Reviewer "Majere"....
Credit : www.lockandload.org.uk
"That Shotgun Divorce have the homefield advantage tonight is evident from the very start of proceedings, as a massive crowd gathers to witness their soundcheck. Taking a leaf from the books of several before them, Darby and his cohorts oblige with a burst of crowd-pleaser ‘Bodies’, sneakily getting it in before the cover can affect their score. “If you want to hear that, shout ‘more’ at the end!” suggests Darby, foreshadowing a bit of a headache for the organisers later. Still, for now there’s an ear-bleeding set to deliver, and Shotgun Divorce do not disappoint, battering a crowd now full of their sold-out T-shirts with opener ‘Bleed for Cheating’. It’s a good atmosphere tonight, with Darby offering his thanks to just about everyone, from bands to fans to organisers. It’s also extremely hot, and it’s not long before Pep’s shirt is off, though Darby resists the calls of “Off! Off!”, citing his “Man-boobs”. It’s a very vocal crowd tonight, a fact that the frontman puts to the test before ‘Gainback’, getting them to chant the names of the entire band with gleeful abandon. By now, even the usually reserved Dom (or ‘Dom-bag Darrel’, as Darby will excruciatingly dub him at one point) is grinning and moving around a bit, and as per usual Pep and Ozzy are throwing every shape going. With excellent mike technique, Darby is on fine form, but as things go on he does start to look a little tired and lets his two loquacious sidekicks do a bit more of the talking. (It will transpire that Darby is recovering from an 8-hour practice session the night before. Let the man rest, you slavedrivers!) Nonetheless, you count the biggest man in the Yarmouth metal scene out at your peril, and there’s still enough left in the tank for a playful poke at Sweet Dizease (“We love God, we do!”) before ‘Cold’ brings out the lighters for a brief flurry. As the crowd’s chants of “Shotgun!” raise the roof and possibly bring a couple of alarmed calls to the Armed Response unit, Darby calls on the crowd to cheer for the Judges, in a blatant attempt to “butter them up!”. It’s fortunate that the crowd is lively tonight, as their constant shouting and chanting covers up the occasional pause in the set for a quick re-tune. It falls to Pep and Ozzy again to organise a circle pit during ‘Fall of the Last’, though it falls over fairly quickly as usual. ‘I Tried’ is dedicated to audience member ‘Robin’, who is hauled on stage to provide enthusiastic help, before ‘Execute’ is somewhat alarmingly dedicated to everyone’s Mum. In a brave move, Shotgun Divorce finish up with new track ‘Hold Me Down’, which goes down a storm and includes a section where everyone gets their own solo (twice) whilst Darby points out the guilty party. I’ll take this opportunity to mention that drummer Jason is superb all night, since it occurs to me that I haven’t mentioned him yet! It’s clear to pretty much anyone by now that this performance has got Shotgun Divorce into the final, but they aren’t quite done yet. As the crowd call for more, at first the organisers are unimpressed, which leads to a few boos. To their credit, the band stamp on that behaviour pretty quickly, but given the atmosphere there is a change of heart, and Darby pushes himself to the limit one more time to deliver ‘Bodies’ in full this time around. It’s been quite possibly the loudest night in BOTB history, and as the crowd filters out, we can only wonder what the final will bring..."
Credit : www.lockandload.org.uk
"That Shotgun Divorce have the homefield advantage tonight is evident from the very start of proceedings, as a massive crowd gathers to witness their soundcheck. Taking a leaf from the books of several before them, Darby and his cohorts oblige with a burst of crowd-pleaser ‘Bodies’, sneakily getting it in before the cover can affect their score. “If you want to hear that, shout ‘more’ at the end!” suggests Darby, foreshadowing a bit of a headache for the organisers later. Still, for now there’s an ear-bleeding set to deliver, and Shotgun Divorce do not disappoint, battering a crowd now full of their sold-out T-shirts with opener ‘Bleed for Cheating’. It’s a good atmosphere tonight, with Darby offering his thanks to just about everyone, from bands to fans to organisers. It’s also extremely hot, and it’s not long before Pep’s shirt is off, though Darby resists the calls of “Off! Off!”, citing his “Man-boobs”. It’s a very vocal crowd tonight, a fact that the frontman puts to the test before ‘Gainback’, getting them to chant the names of the entire band with gleeful abandon. By now, even the usually reserved Dom (or ‘Dom-bag Darrel’, as Darby will excruciatingly dub him at one point) is grinning and moving around a bit, and as per usual Pep and Ozzy are throwing every shape going. With excellent mike technique, Darby is on fine form, but as things go on he does start to look a little tired and lets his two loquacious sidekicks do a bit more of the talking. (It will transpire that Darby is recovering from an 8-hour practice session the night before. Let the man rest, you slavedrivers!) Nonetheless, you count the biggest man in the Yarmouth metal scene out at your peril, and there’s still enough left in the tank for a playful poke at Sweet Dizease (“We love God, we do!”) before ‘Cold’ brings out the lighters for a brief flurry. As the crowd’s chants of “Shotgun!” raise the roof and possibly bring a couple of alarmed calls to the Armed Response unit, Darby calls on the crowd to cheer for the Judges, in a blatant attempt to “butter them up!”. It’s fortunate that the crowd is lively tonight, as their constant shouting and chanting covers up the occasional pause in the set for a quick re-tune. It falls to Pep and Ozzy again to organise a circle pit during ‘Fall of the Last’, though it falls over fairly quickly as usual. ‘I Tried’ is dedicated to audience member ‘Robin’, who is hauled on stage to provide enthusiastic help, before ‘Execute’ is somewhat alarmingly dedicated to everyone’s Mum. In a brave move, Shotgun Divorce finish up with new track ‘Hold Me Down’, which goes down a storm and includes a section where everyone gets their own solo (twice) whilst Darby points out the guilty party. I’ll take this opportunity to mention that drummer Jason is superb all night, since it occurs to me that I haven’t mentioned him yet! It’s clear to pretty much anyone by now that this performance has got Shotgun Divorce into the final, but they aren’t quite done yet. As the crowd call for more, at first the organisers are unimpressed, which leads to a few boos. To their credit, the band stamp on that behaviour pretty quickly, but given the atmosphere there is a change of heart, and Darby pushes himself to the limit one more time to deliver ‘Bodies’ in full this time around. It’s been quite possibly the loudest night in BOTB history, and as the crowd filters out, we can only wonder what the final will bring..."
