CAGED remind me of the kind of band that I absolutely adored when I was 13 or so, and just getting into groups that weren’t commercial boy band rubbish. Unfortunately my teenage rocker phase only lasted as long as it took me to realise that I wasn’t as angry (or whatever it is that makes school kids don all black, wear make up and talk about their feelings) as others rockers and so I put aside my Megadeath albums and started my journey down the long and winding indie music road.
Nonetheless it was a refreshing change to see a group play with the anger, the passion and the heavy power chords which as a wannabe teenage rocker made me want to jump up and down in my bedroom whilst head-banging along to the music.
At the Cooperage gig on Monday, I found that there was a part of me that was really enjoying the fast guitar harmonies, the simple yet repetitive lyrics and the complicated bass riffs. The set was only about 15 minutes long and I got the impression that the group were trying to fit in as many songs as possible into this time.
The tunes were all fast paced, furious and played with a certain enthusiasm that is sorely lacking in a lot of indie bands but is constantly seen with the heavier (dare I say it?) metal bands around. Bob Douglass’s vocals were powerful and strong- although I can’t quite understand why as quite an obvious Newcastle lad, he was singing with an American accent- and the audience certainly liked what the band had to offer, clapping and cheering loudly between the (few) breaks in the music.
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It wasn’t all aggressive rock though, there was the obligatory slow and soulful ballad with heartfelt vocals thanks to ‘Roundabout’, but fortunately/unfortunately this song reminded me quite a lot of the Stained tune ‘It’s been a while’ which was a big hit a couple of years ago. I think I would have preferred more of the angry stuff instead!
The set finished with ‘(Goodbye) A Peaceful Promise’ followed swiftly by ‘Oversight’- probably one of the strongest songs in the set - which left my ears ringing pleasantly from the noise and the audience cheering for more. Overall I was quite impressed with what I saw and left wishing that I was a bit more of a rocker so that I too could mosh away to fierce and intense guitar music and shout along with the lead singer. Somehow though, I think I still have some way to go!
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