Heads Up
Formed just over a year ago the Hedrons haven't wasted much time and have their debut album out in October. Today they play the Snickers Bowl, which is a strange environment for bands given the unusual set up but they do an admirable job under difficult circumstances. The nearest audience member must be 20 metres away and throughout the set a succession of skateboarders use the bowl right in front of them. The Hedrons however are totally unphased and take it all in their stride.
Vocalist Tippi shows no signs of nerves in front of a packed out bowl and gives a solid and confident performance, her voice certainly has a touch of Pauline Murray about it and she more than matches Ms Murray for power. The songs are in your face, power chord based, Ramones style numbers and although the guitar is too quiet in the mix there is some accomplished solo work from guitarist Rosie. Tippi dons guitar for 'Sympathy' and they pick up the pace even more, removing in the process any lingering doubts anyone might have about whether girls can really rock!
They are all clearly accomplished musicians and Chi's bass playing warrants special mention. The new single 'Be My Friend' (out 31st July) is more of the same with a good sing along chorus but it's not as catchy as some of the preceding numbers. 'Heatseeker' draws more from the Iggy school and to be honest it does sound a little dated, lacking the energy of earlier songs, all is rectified with the next song though which comes right back up to speed with a great shuffle beat from Soup on the drums.
During the last song Tippi jumps down from the stage and goes walkabout around the skate bowl; it's the perfect piece of PR, everybody smiles and everybody will remember the Hedrons for all the right reasons.