05 November 2007 (gig)
12 November 2007
It’s been a while since I was last at this venue and it was to see L7. Oddly enough, one of The Donnas influences, but they weren’t so influenced as to pull their jeans down, or offer a one night stand to a member of the audience!
The Donnas open with a Bitchin’! Not complaining, but the title track from their new album, and this gets a good airing. Strong tracks like Don’t Give Up on Me and Like An Animal are destined to be mainstays of the live set.
Mediocrities like Girl Talk and Wasted, away from the buff of the studio, have more of an edge and danger about them. There were a smattering of older numbers, and a cover of Ratt’s Round and Round. It was all well appreciated by the very diverse audience, though never really setting us alight.
The Donnas, after musically meandering for a while, seem to have found their direction and decided they want to play no frills hard rock. Now, this type of music should have people diving around from the off. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen for them, at least not tonight. They weren’t bad, just lacking the fire and attitude that sends audiences into a frenzy. It also helps if the band is - or at least appears to be - enjoying their performance, but however many times they assured us they were having a great time, they didn’t look it.
