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12th August 2005 at Camberley FC
"We’ve been having technical problems, so this is gonna be a bit dodgy". He’s obviously not from the Johnny Borrell school of modesty, and he’s definitely not as much of a prima donna. Magdala’s frontman just runs his vocals through the guitar amp and gets on with it, tumbling straight into the sort of trailblazing guitar work normally reserved for the final song of the night. It’s not that time just yet though, so next we’re treated to fan favourite Silence Forte – aptly named given its quiet/loud dynamics. But before you recoil in horror at the thought, this ain’t no Pixies-aping grunge throwback. With a clickity-trip drum beat and layers of reverb-drenched right-hand guitar tapping, it’s as if Boards of Canada got a band together to live out their Mars Volta fantasies. Atmosphere isn’t everything though, and towards the end of the set the overly breathy, Chino Moreno wailing does begin to grate – but just as the audience start to get bored of long instrumental passages, it seems someone has leant over and said "Hey lads, it’s alright to play a tune sometimes." Proudly announcing "This one even has a chorus!", they let rip with a lean, mean rocker, with more twists and turns than a nest of vipers, and just as venomous. They can do experimental, they can do rocking – when they can combine the two they’ll really be a force to be reckoned with.