MDC @ Owl Sanctuary
A well drilled machine
MDC at the old Owl was one of the more surprising gigs of last year. Two quality support sets followed by a genuinely great headline slot meant it far exceeded my expectations. Part of that low expectation was down to MDC never really maintaining a steady career releasing new albums, holding down stable line ups and remaining relevant to a new audience.
Sadly on this occasion there was only one support, but the band we got did their best, even with the odds stacked against them. Singer? Broke his leg. Bassist? On holiday in Cornwall. So Throat Punch arrive all the way from Spalding with a stand in bass player a singing drummer and shambolically entertain, crack jokes and play some thrashy punky numbers, only slightly outstaying their welcome. They even managed a cover of the Bad Brains classic Rise Above. If I was confined to a two word review it would be – endearingly shit.
Proving that MDC are essentially lead singer Dave Dictor plus a bunch of hired hands, tonight’s band feature only the bass player from their visit 360 days ago. This time we get the guitarist who was with them in 1990 and the original drummer (Al Schvitz?) who shortly before show time was seen falling off the side of the stage – yikes. Did it matter? Of course it didn’t. Just like last year MDC kicked out the jams for an hour of non-stop hardcore punk rock. Dave has shorn his flowing locks and returned with a kind of mohican and looking about 20 years younger than before – nice one. The sound was a bit muffled meaning some of Dave’s between-song-raps fell on deaf ears, a shame because last time he was quite the raconteur. We got every song we could have wished for – John Wayne Is A Nazi, Dick For Brains, I Hate Work, Patriot Asshole – dozens of them played at breakneck speed. They were like a well drilled machine led effortlessly by Dave’s decades of experience..
The big winner of the night though? The bloody Owl. I’ve been a fair few times since the venue switched and it’s really starting to feel like home now. Lots of familiar faces were out despite this being in the middle of a four night run of shows. The big danger for me proved to be a combination of the late license they now have and the fact that they sell pints for just £3. They even have their own Left Winger ale at that price meaning that by the time MDC finished I’d already passed the point of logic and reason. School night? I laughed in its face. Of course I wanted another and then another pint, of course that last shot to help me home seemed like a good idea, of course getting home proved to be an impossible task and of course the past few days have been spent in a mixture of relief and self loathing. Hence the late review – so, sorry about that everyone, I’ll try and be much more professional next time, try and act my age and ultimately try and avoid getting fucked by The Owl.
