Wednesday 28/01/02 Robochrist, Span @ Cockpit, Leeds

As I make my way to the Cockpit on a night in West Yorkshire of Baltic proportions, I am reminded of that utterly offensive Crowded House song ‘Weather With You’. Ironic then that tonight it is Norse (Rock) Gods Span who await my attention. “It’s true”, I chuckle to myself as I nearly go arse-over-tits down yet another icy embankment, “they really did bring the weather with them.” This leaves me in no doubt that a band which has the power to control the forces of nature, is definitely worth a look.

But not before the Cockpit faithful are treated to something a little bit special. Enter one-man support act Robochrist. Dressed as the hybrid offspring of The Joker and Gary Glitter, Robochrist mounts the stage to 'Carmina Burana' (theme from The Omen for all you film nuts) and proceeds to deliberately and unceremoniously butcher it on guitar, thrashing out a furious death metal riff over the top to the sheer terror of onlookers. His set proceeds in a similar vein with ‘Grange Hill’ and ‘Rainbow’ samples thrown in only to be mercilessly slaughtered by Robochrist’s hardcore industrial metal. Fascinating though he is, you can’t help wondering whether he was kicked out of Rammstein, went mental and embarked on a one-man crusade to subvert the type of music with which he was formerly associated. He stretches boundaries to the limit, not least with an outro accompanied by the script from a Werther’s Original advert. It’s bizarre, but with Robochrist leering motionless at his bewildered audience, it’s amazing how perverted it sounds.

The word SPAN is arrogantly emblazoned across a huge backdrop, which seems slightly ridiculous considering tonight’s incredibly half-arsed turnout. It is however clear from the outset that they are a band worthy of far more attention than this. The garage-rock sound which dominates the earlier proceedings gives way to slower songs with howling lead parts which strongly echo Pearl Jam. This part of the set is unexpected, but refreshing and strangely captivating, lasting a good 15 minutes, before they return to the rock ‘n’ roll they do best. Span are also a band with a sense of humour, and actually speak better English than many Leeds Evening Post vendors. They cynically survey the attentive but largely passive rabble standing before them, casting wry glances at each other as they do so. Singer Jarle tries his best, but to little avail, to unleash the rock beast in each and every one us, even descending into the crowd with his microphone to assemble “my own gospel chorus”.

Unperturbed by the lack of cooperation of their audience, Span plough on with the rest of the set, treating us to forthcoming single ‘Don’t Think the Way They Do’ which is good, but by no means the best song in their repertoire. Their slower but heavier songs (think ‘Walk’ by Pantera) evoke much more teeth-clenching, head-banging and devil signs and it is with one of these, ‘Papa’, that they close a slightly complacent hour-and-a-quarter set.

Even with The Cockpit’s dwindling numbers in mind, Span do not look bored once and play to a handful how they would play to an army. This fact alone makes them instantly loveable. Oh, and…did I mention that they rock?