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EVENTS
Pure Carnage: The Cerebral Ballzy Experience
Other | Thursday 19th July 2012 | Osh
Undoubtedly the most extreme show you will ever dare to see.
It all started on a typical night of alcohol indulgence when a good friend of mine drunkenly questioned whether or not I would like to join him at a Cerebral Ballzy gig someday in mid-July. Without any moments thought I declared that I would be delighted to.
Little did I know just what is was that I was in for. I had heard from him about the numerous times he had seen them, and eventually befriending them, and he had said they had never failed to deliver a truly mad performance. Now I have been to my fair share of messy drum and bass/dubstep and even heavy metal gigs and shows, so I thought that despite these warnings it was nothing I couldn’t handle or that several drinks wouldn’t ease.
The venue was Birthdays in Dalston. As expected there was an array of denim jackets, black skinny jeans, flat caps, ‘trendy’ hair styles and Camden town level of tattoo’s on display. After several whiskeys while waiting for my mates to show up, we headed down to a small dark room to establish a place at the front of the crowd, which given it being less than a 200 person venue wasn’t too difficult. Jackets came off and we sipped on our drinks while we waited for the band, the anticipation lingering like the stale scent of the concoction of spilt beverages.
As soon as the band strummed the first guitar note and first touched the drum kit the crowd erupted. I mean literally erupted. Bodies flew everywhere, fists and elbows striking whichever poor bastard was on the wrong end of it. People hitting the floor before abruptly being brought up by a destructive yet considerate crowd. Unimaginable levels of sweat accumulated in such a short period of time, with the lead singer pausing every now again from his wasted state to pour beer over us as a way of refreshment. The music was loud, intense and deafening, accompanying the violence so blissfully and easing any pain I was being subjected to. When the singer announced their last song, I was overcome by both relief and despair, something I have only felt at a few breath-taking gigs
Afterwards my mate asked if I wanted to interview them. I then stumbled away homeward bound... I had been blown away enough.
Jack Brighouse
Special thanks to George De Cleyn and of course Cerebral Ballzy
