Live Review: Sonic Boom Six (Rock City Basement, Nottingham)
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| Photo: Simon McMurdo |
Sonic Boom Six are full of surprises. Anyone that has ventured into their ecelctric brand of electro-pop-rnb-reggae-hip-hop-ska-punk-rock will tell you that, as that genre suggests, they’re full of surprises. Constantly evolving and tossing about ideas that don’t really seem too great in theory, but sound awesome – there is a lot to be said about the bands unpredictable nature and after witnessing them perform live, you’ll understand that the surprises don’t stop just there – melodica solos, crowd crouching and a pretty impressive Gangnam Style dance routine. Interested? You should be.
The tour supporting their self-titled record handles it’s setlist pretty well – plenty of new stuff, including the first ever performance of the massive ‘S.O.S (State Of Shock’, but enough to placate older fans too – most notably ‘Piggy In The Middle, always one of the highlights from a Sonic Boom Six set. Fans of their first full-length also had the chance to enjoy ‘People Acklike They Don’t Know’, a song that finds relevance today, showing just how forward thinking the band have been throughout their career.
Current single ‘Karma Is A Bitch’ and the storming ‘Virus’ went down exceptionally well and brought a surprisingly well-fitting electronic element to the bands live set to match their latest genre-foray. The singles, as well as the aforementioned ‘Piggy In The Middle’ were ticked off quite early in the setlist, however, giving the new material a massive job in ending the evening on a high. The mammoth creature that is ‘Flatline’ single-handedly quenched any doubts and made the crowd go insane and pre-encore closer ‘Karma Is A Lady’ provided a gentle enough send off, complete with a nice, catchy sing-a-long moment.
As things drew to a close, the band thanked Nottingham for their exceptionally warm welcome – surely, an encouraging start to their tour – and played a one-song encore consisting of the fitting ‘Floating Away’. Sonic Boom Six have been on it for years – producing sensational material and tragically receiving only a small percentage of the attention they ultimately deserve. Thanks to the success of it’s first single, however, ‘Sonic Boom Six’ looks set to pave the way for much bigger things and as Laila sings that final song of a hopeful future, there’s a genuine belief tonight that they’ll soon be living in it, if they aren’t already
Words & Photo: Simon McMurdo