GIG REVIEW: JOHN + Ceramic + Tin Ribs @ The Cluny 2, Newcastle, Saturday 9 March 2024
It’s 10 years since South London duo JOHN began making their visceral noise-rock, but somehow they’d never made it as far as Newcastle – a city which loves its rock.
They righted that wrong by playing The Cluny 2 on the final date of a tour promoting latest album A Life Diagrammatic, which began in November – and I don’t think they’ll leave it so long again.
JOHN (look for johntimestwo if you search for them online) play a rowdy brand of fuzzed-up post-punk, made all the more impressive by the fact there’s only two of them.
John Newton (drums and vocals) and Jonny Healy (guitar) look unassuming as they take to the blue-bathed stage, illuminated solely by a sign saying JOHN.
There’s a real dystopian feel to it, and that’s magnified by their music, which is all gruff vocals, urgent, distorted guitar and propulsive drumming.
JOHN have four albums under their belt, most recently last year’s A Life Diagrammatic (reviewed here). It saw the band at their most experimental yet, and accounts for about two-thirds of their set tonight, with eight of its 10 tracks receiving an airing.
They kick off with At Peacehaven, its opening track, which slowly builds with shards of jagged guitar before exploding into life. A lot of JOHN’s songs are like this, with their lack of numbers compensated for by a bewildering array of effects pedals at Healy’s feet, which he makes full use of during their hour-long set.
I have no idea what most of JOHN’s songs are about, but their use of repetition is compelling, drawing you into the music, and by the end of each song their sheer power makes you feel like you’ve been battered around the head, but found it strangely enjoyable.
The standout track from the new material live is, for me, Service Stationed, with its repeated mantra of “keeping on keeping on”. Apart from most of the album, we also get both sides of last year’s standalone single, Hopper On The Dial/Theme New Bond Junior.
A small but lively moshpit takes shape as the crowd get into the vibe, but calls for old favorites like Sibensko Powerhouse are politely rebuffed by Newton, who says they’re “so old we can’t remember how to play them”, and urges patience, as there’s some oldies on the way.
True to his word, after playing another A Life Diagrammatic standout, Trauma Mosaic, JOHN finish with a trio of songs from their first three albums, with Non-Essential Hymn (from 2021’s Nocturnal Manoeuvres), followed by Squad Vowels (from 2017 debut God Speed In the National Limit), and Future Thinker (from 2019’s Out Here On The Fringes.
JOHN don’t do fake encores, which quickly turn the audience’s cheers and calls for “one more song” to a disappointed but good natured “no more songs”, but no one here can say they haven’t just seen a show which will live long in the memory.
Yes, JOHN’s intense, sonorous attack might be an acquired taste, but once you’ve got it I can assure you it’s one you’ll want more of.
A word, too, for the bands who warmed the crowd up for tonight’s headliners. First on were Tin Ribs, a four-piece hardcore punk band from Durham.
I saw their third-ever gig, opening for Bob Vylan at Newcastle University back in November 2022, (reviewed here, and steady gigging, including support slots with rising DIY punk stars The Meffs, has brought a clear improvement.
Livewire frontman Jason spends more time among the crowd than on stage, but their modern take on hardcore is a very enjoyable one – check out their debut EP Council Pop, which you’ll find on Spotify and other streaming services.
They were followed by Ceramic, a three-piece from Newcastle who play sophisticated indie-rock, full of throbbing basslines, precise drumming and shimmering guitar, which veers into surf-rock territory at times.
The band they most remind me of are The Blinders, and I enjoyed their all-too-brief six-song set very much. Sadly they had no merch for sale, but a quick search online reveals a debut EP and a couple of singles, and if you get the chance to see Ceramic I’d recommend it, as they’re very good.
Both local bands have a healthy following of fans here tonight, which is always good to see, and hopefully they stuck around to see JOHN too, then went and told their mates about them.
