TIP played on their home turf tonight (17th August), in front of a sizeable crowd inside Filthies. The band enjoyed a good turn out of fans who soaked up every word, and every note that was played. The heat created contained within the venue had evolved from the vibe and style of TIP. The band only had a half hour set but used every second of their time to good effect.
Arriving at Filtihies at roughly 7pm I was allowed free entrance as I was on the guest list for the night. The custodian of the entrance was Simon, who I was greeted by, my name was struck from the list and I advanced. Suffering from lack of sleep and drinking excessively that afternoon, I was not in the best form but I was determined to get the scoop for the review and take photos of the band. The venue at that time was pretty empty ( I was reliably informed that TIP were to perform at 7pm!), so I was a little confused at to why all band members were walking about chatting to the few inhabitants of the pub when I presumed that they would be playing. The band I subsequently found out were due to play at 8pm. So I hung around and chatted to Sanj, who at my request, wrote down the track list for TIP set. As always the first three songs were standard, the basic template to start the evening. Due to the shortness of time (for the set), Sanj took time to select the songs which he and the band would play. This must be part and parcel of arranging gig slots like this, due to time constraints the choice of songs have to be selected with care, so a mixture of songs from the current album and new material will be played.
As 8pm approached the band started to set up and they then played a short sound check, to make sure everything was functioning. By this time a stream of people had swept through the door and were standing around the stage ready for the off. A large group were outside in the small beer garden. The band launched in to their set, the most destructed, power charged half hour of my life. I hung round the stage taking photos of the band in action. Sanj was electric as ever, the charismatic, flamboyant Punk front man! His deep resonating voice booming from the mic, making the ground shake beneath your feet. Adrian was super charged on the guitar, the riffs with which he produced, the power at which he can create them was like watching a magician wave his magic wand and creating something colossal. Taran's punk drumming was, as always, awesome. For me there was something spell binding about the way he can control the power and the aggression, turning all he had into a deadly arsenal of weapons! Simon's bass playing was the special ingredient added to a truly mouth watering recipe. The way he could effortlessly pluck the strings of his weapon of mass destruction, gently drawing the crowd in before hammering down with all his might to make the instrument sing like a Luciano Pavarottio in his prime!!!
The band played a number of new tracks from their highly anticipated second album, tracks like Haystack of Needles, Word of One, Alcoholic Euphonic and Indigo Girl kicked, screamed and punched their way into every corner, every nock of Filthies. The venue was alive with sound, a whirlpool of noise which drowned your senses and filled your soul with an electric current so vibrant that you were on a buzz of punk fever!
The guys were on form tonight and for me personally the second as yet untitled album can't come quickly enough. Another TIP gig, another chance to watch one of the best up and coming bands, who are knocking on the door of success, armed with all the skills and weapons they need to, not just to survive, but to pitch camp and embed themselves into the main stream of the music industry! All the evidence from tonight only goes to support this and I hope that all goes well for them!
Track List (which during the set was altered)