SPOTLIGHT REVIEW: CABBAGE, PURPLE TURTLE, READING, 16TH FEBRUARY

The venue was rammed! Wall to wall stuff; we could barely squeeze through to the bar for a swift pint without treading on the toes of everyone present. It’s compelling to see how far Cabbage have come in such a short space of time. We were at their Purple Turtle show in Reading last year and it sure as hell wasn’t as busy as this time round. That crowd could have been rounded up, dropped into a two up two down semi-detached front room and still had enough space to swing a cat around by its legs. Or squeeze out for a piss and a fag break if the cat lark ain’t your thing. Opportunities such as this will surely start to dissipate VERY soon. That’s right folks lap it up whilst it’s still ripe cos’ these intimate gigs have an expiry date and it’s creeping up on us. Cabbage are hurtling forwards, head first with no sign of stopping and we’re backing them to go all the way. Brimming with flair, they have the potential to, one day, headline any major UK festival they want. We’re saying this and they still haven’t released their debut album yet! Let’s give them a chance to find their feet first!

Versatility and passion will be the driving force behind their success, well that, and their uncanny ability to shit out bangers like they’re an undergraduate student sitting a Key Stage 3 exam. Seriously, some tracks make us wonder what the fuck we’re doing with our lives. Here’s these boys smashing out their intricately fined tuned mayhem on a daily basis and I can still barely manage to get out the house without and odd pair of socks on. Take ‘Uber Capitalist Death Trade’ for example, what a masterful piece of music that is. Barely one EP into proceedings and they go and write an anthem like that? Must be all the Cabbage they’re eating.

We’ve been left with a cliff hanger though; wondering when they’ll give us more. Content in the comfort of knowing we have 4 EP’s to get us through but itching at the prospect of something new. When will it come? What will it sound like? We can’t get enough, the thought of a full length debut album, quite literally, has us trothing at the mouth like a budget extra from Shaun of The Dead. We’ve developed crackhead tendencies eagerly awaiting our next fix to send us into a transcendent state of energetic euphoria. Anywhere better than the morbid reality of today’s world; where a narcissistic, toupee wearing orangutan runs one of the world’s most influential economic powerhouses, our fundamental humanity takes a backseat to ignorant patriarchy and vile discrimination towards minority groups is still a prominent part of society endorsed by those in positions of significant social impressionism . Jeeeeeeez, where did that rant come from! Must have been the five hour Cabbage binge we had last night!

Now onto the juicy shit……… It was a Thursday night in Reading, those of you that are local to this city/town/village (whatever it is) will know that not much really happens. It’s a ghost town. Despite having a University you could walk through the city centre for 15 minutes and still not bump into a single soul. Free tickets to see Cabbage was the wake up call Reading needed. Like a defibrillator to the chest it jolted this derelict wasteland into some midweek action. We arrived just in time for April and The Shimmer Band who, as always, demolished their sets. It seems every time we see these guys they just get better and better! If you want to hear more about the support acts then keep an eye out for our #4in4 Live Review later this week. We’re shining the spotlight on Cabbage in this article so continue reading if that’s what you’re after.

Moments before they graced the stage we bumped into a few members of the fold outside. That’s the beauty of these intimate settings, it gives us mere mortals a chance to meet the god’s among us and pick their brains. They were scattered around the smoking area like a pack of rabid wolves poised and ready to go and devour their kill. Vocal exercises, pacing up and down, chatting , peaceful waiting; they all had their own pre-show rituals. There we stood sloshed on about three Bacardi Breezers watching them like a group of millennial zombies watch Made in Chelsea re-runs. One of our writers approached guitarist, Eoghan Clifford, for a chat. He’s such a down to earth chap! Cool as a cucumber, sound as a pound, suave as James Bond and brimming with musical talent. We shook hands, exchanged a business card or two and left him to his thing. There’s nothing worse than a clingy fan and we certainly didn’t wanna be ‘that guy’ so we just asked him to sign our ass/tits, broke into the tour bus and got a Cabbage tattoo from a homeless man in the alley round the corner. Nothing too major! He did offer Jack some brotherly advice on women though. Top lad!

We darted back inside as they hit the stage, opening up with one of their ‘punkier’ tracks “Dissonance”. It creeps in with that sharp overdriven guitar much like a signature Slaves riff before being layered over with all that Cabbage goodness. Immediately they send the place into mayhem, demanding the attention of the audience like a drop kick to the back of the nut. You didn’t expect it, it was probably uncalled for but you’re paying attention nonetheless. Next up is “Indispensable Pencil” with its erratic, Biffy Clyro like, intro/outro riff to get the crowd bouncing around and shuffling their feet. This song doesn’t have a ceiling it just escalates and escalates into something that can only be described as orgasmic. I can probably sack off my life time membership to Pornhub now this has been released, that’s a good few years of nosh material sorted! Seriously, the guitar is dangerous. It quite literally sends shivers down the ol’ spine, as it reincarnates a glimmer of an old school Arctic Monkeys style solo. These boys are like a cauldron of amazing rock music all infused into one recipe of shire brilliance. You could eat that shit everyday of your life and never get bored of the taste. We’re not gunna go through track by track but you can head over to setlist.fm to get a full run down. The rest of the set was packed out with a flurry of their other worldy bangers like “Terrorist Synthesizer”, “Necroflat in The Palace”, “Kevin” and “Uber Capitalist Death Trade”.

We have to give a special shout out to “Dinner Lady” though this is an incredible live track. Take a step back from the fast paced, balls to the wall rock and roll and wrap your ear buds round this fucker. Joe Martin (vocals, guitar) lunges away from his, stationary, microphone and passes the guitar over to, fellow comrade, Lee Broadbent. This song is the personified voice of the working class hero, a spirit in disguise that addresses the, rather stereotypical, but hilarious, reality of silver spoon, private school life through the eyes of a ‘salt of the earth’ dinner lady. She wanks in the principals quiche, takes sly digs at overpriced Jack Wills tat and spit shines every plate in sight. With a tantalisingly sadistic riff that oozes with bodacious mockery towards those at the ‘other end’ of the social spectrum. It’s a comical delve into ‘how the other half live’ wrapped in a layer of pure funk that commandeers your body and forces you to bop around. The studio version gives us a song that we can prance around the room too, miming the words and asserting nothing but attitude but put this mysterious enigma into a live scenario and the aura changes entirely. Absolutely BRILLIANT!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dklgoPTv9X8

The beautiful thing about their live set is the raw energy and power, you wonder how they keep going through the night let alone a twenty date tour. So much movement on stage, one minute they’re on each other’s shoulders, the next they’re on the floor then they’re up on the kick drum with palms on the ceiling. It’s just a bunch of lads not really giving a toss about anything and having a fucking great time playing music. Sure, Cabbage are a fantastic band and there’s an awful lot of hype surrounding them at the moment but that doesn’t faze them in the slightest. The music they write isn’t your typical soulless waffle about girl breaking boy’s heart. This is real life shit, politically driven and purposefully intended to wake us up to the world we live in. It’s not dressed up, it is what it is! Be warned Theresa May this rowdy rabble are causing quite a stir already, I’d keep one eye open when you sleep.

Not much is known about their plans to release a debut album yet BUT their collective EP “Young Dumb and Full Of…” was released earlier this year and will be available on vinyl later this month. What does the rest of 2017 have in store for Cabbage? Well they’re booked solid throughout the summer making an appearance on pretty much every festival poster we’ve seen so far. So, if you and your mates are heading to a UK festival this year then the likelihood is they’ll be playing. Not that any of you really need to be told but, GO SEE THEM! There’s a lot of great music coming out of the North-West of England at the moment and this lively bunch are spearheading the revival, don’t miss the party! Whilst on the subject we’re heading to see The Blinders again on Thursday at the Rocksteady in London so keep an eye out for that LIVE REVIEW which will be up soon after. What’s the next political motive on the agenda for Cabbage then? Only time will tell………