Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster @ Boston Arms, Camden

One of the support acts' (Muddy Miles) singer/guitarist is an old friend of mine from Uni. This was also my first prog gig and was posted on Grapevinelive.co.uk.

Thursday 6th December 2012, Boston Arms, Camden
Written by Ryan Whitwell

Prog, not a genre I'm well versed in but it is one that has intrigued me, the idea of having something seem so random and disordered but at the same time maintain a structure is interesting. However my knowledge of prog rock extends as far as ‘Yes’ and the stranger end of Pink Floyd, so tonight’s gig featuring three prog bands was going to be an experience regardless of the quality of music.

As I sat on the tube from High Barnet to Tufnell Park I listened to the EP of a couple of the three bands I was heading to see at The Boston Arms, Camden. Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster had top billing with support from Colchester’s Telepathy and Bristol’s Muddy Miles and I was excited to experience some bands that I wouldn't normally choose to see.

The venue was a bit sparse in terms of crowd, but a nice collective managed to form as the three bands progressed throughout the evening. Muddy Miles were first up. I had heard their recorded stuff before but live they managed to push their sound to a different level. I guess my favourite thing about prog is the chaotic nature much of the genre possesses, but it somehow remains ordered. Muddy Miles’ barrage of effects take the guitar and bass to places it was never meant to go and it all works surprisingly well. The level of distortion didn't interfere and Muddy Miles seemed loose but well rehearsed at the same time (after talking to the bassist I found out they hadn't played for a while, so maybe the loose organic feel was accidental, either way it worked so why worry?) Muddy Miles are planning to relocate to London so hopefully they will be playing a lot more gigs soon.

Telepathy, from Colchester, managed to take the chaos I mentioned earlier and rank it up to ‘certifiable’! The four piece seemed to be enjoying themselves as they moved around like a band possessed. The effects pedals were in full effect, altering everything, impressing everyone and the sound firing through the amps was nothing short of insane. The songs were all instrumentals, which meant the structures of the songs were far beyond the usual verse-chorus-verse format I'm used to. The shifting tempo and rhythm kept the songs moving in all sorts of directions.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster were the third and final band of the night. More reserved than the previous bands but still maintained the energy of the evening. They were also sporting a new bassist and I think they had another change in the form of a lack of vocals, but I don’t know enough about the band to know what happened there. The loss of vocals would be a dramatic change for many bands but Bridge Disaster's songs shift and morph to the point that you wonder where a vocalist might fit in such a thing. I really enjoyed all three bands tonight, so much so that I might start to give prog a bit more respect now.

All three bands have free songs and other stuff online through Band Camp, so you can get some free music and donate a few pounds if you like what you hear.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster :  http://BridgeDisaster.co.uk  and facebook.com/tnbduk

Telepathy : http://telepathyband.bandcamp.com/  and facebook.com/telepathyband

Muddy Miles : http://MuddyMilesBand.co.uk and facebook.com/muddymilesband