Monday 21/10/02 Pinhole, Pablo, Oceansize @ Academy 3, Liverpool

For all the US saturation of the punk-pop market, with The Moonies and now Pinhole, it seems that Liverpool have two prime candidates ready to go head to head with heavy weights like Blink 182 and New Found Glory. Combining that Green Day knack of marrying a killer hook to a great chorus with a distinct British sensibility that takes in influences such as The Clash and The Jam, it's a real shame that Pinhole's sharply delivered set washes over this largely indifferent crowd tonight. Because from the driving 'Addicted to You' through to the reggae tinged 'Hostile' that successfully evokes 'Time Bomb' era Rancid, Pinhole deliver a punchy, harmony soaked punk pop master class. Considerably brighter things do indeed beckon!

If the reaction to the sweet and just ever so slightly caustic Pinhole can at best be described as "tepid", you can probably imagine the reception that greets the six legged stoner rock beast that is Pablo. Allegedly soon to be supporting Tool on their European Tour, Pablo take that dark n' bluesy heavy metal imprint originally laid down by Messrs Osborne and Iommi, the distorted grunge of Tad and an unmistakable melodic edge reminiscent of desert rockers Kyuss, to create huge slabs of sludgy, stormy noise. As the first fantastic song jars to a juddering halt, giving your sonically assaulted eardrums a quick chance for some well earned respite, I realise that I'm one of about three people in a crowd of 150 offering generous applause. Pablo, it would be fair to say, have a fight on their hands to win over this lot. The next song finishes. "Get off, you're ****ing shit" and a few boo's. I haven't seen anything like this since The Icarus Line confused the **** out of some scared looking Dukes of Nothing fans! Thankfully this active dislike is like a red rag to the Pablo, spurring them on to even greater levels of distortion, noise and brilliance. This is certainly a performance I won't forget in a while.

Following Pablo, Oceansize's approximation of an industrial strength 'Storm in Heaven' Verve unfortunately fails to reach the lofty heights which they admirably aim for. Undoubtedly, their heavy psychedelic swirls of post rock noise create a formidable wall of sound, which on 'Amputee' works an absolute treat. But more often than not, it all becomes a bit of a non-descript blur as one lengthy extended jam struggles to differentiate itself from the next. Although there isn't anything wholly wrong with Oceansize - you'd take this over a thousand plod rockers any day - its just seems as though this is "epic" by the book, from the "vast" moniker through to all the important ticks in the relevant boxes. Still evidently young with real potential however, lets just hope that Oceansize manage to glean a few more standout moments to become a band that will be truly worth looking out for!

Photos by Bob Iddon