Enola Gay, Yes Basement. 17th March 2022

This could get messy. It’s St. Paddy’s Day, we’re locked in Yes’ sold out Basement, there’s a few daft foam hats around and the stage is bathed in permanent green light. Plus headliners Enola Gay are both Irish and fucking brutal live. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, there’s support bands to plug. Local lads Maruja are an interesting band. There’s a fella on stage with a saxophone that’s not only not shit, but pretty bloody brilliant. Marry him with the drummer who comes from the Ginger Baker school of lets play jazz rhythms so hard it terrifies anyone with a functioning set of ear drums and you’ve already got my attention. I’ll need to listen to them on record, but live they’re loud, monstrous and set the tone perfectly. The questionably named Yabba are next. They slow the tempo down a little, but it’s still heavy with the sort of driving bass that pushes my buttons. We’re in crossover territory, heavily distorted hip hop vocals over the top of squalling guitars. Despite them all stripping off and looking like a slightly pasty budget RHCP they’re not bad. The crowd is a bit tamer, the foam hats have buggered off somewhere and the muddy mix doesn’t help them. There’s a good pulverising stomping rhythm through almost every song though and they do get the small pit bouncing as things get a bit more metal, but I’m not convinced. Again, I might need to investigate further, this lot might not be for me though. That said, I do enjoy a mid-set change of instruments and when the bassist takes over the drums and the drummer picks up a saxophone (another one!) things do get interesting. Anyway we’re all here for Enola Gay. 4 lads from Belfast that play the sort of post punk influenced by IDLES and Fontaines DC. Really they’re something different altogether. A dense wall of noise teased from guitars as likely to be left to feedback as pedals are played with as they are shredded. Motorik drums, solid basslines and vocals that not only tie it all together, but add an infectious bounce. They’re an odd mix between tight and loose. Feeling solid and purposeful, but with an element of danger that anything could happen. The drummer from Yabba invades the stage with his saxophone because, well why the hell not. This isn’t actually the danger I’m taking about but it is fun. The crowd surfing eases for the slower songs, but these are are some of my favourites. Sombre baselines and reflective lyrics proving they’re not just all about the noise. I won’t declare them as my new favourite band, but if you like music that rattles brain cells then you need to give them a listen. They’re easy to get swept up by. The lighting guy has had an easy night too, that green never changes or even flickers. You don’t need distractions though when the music’s this good.