Happy New Year!
Kicking off this new year with a recent-ish outing. This year I've been delving back into the punk scene in a big way and discovering new bands to listen to and go see and my favourite find of 2014 has been without a doubt Masked Intruder. Who knew balaklava clad romantics could write such catchy tunes? If you've not heard of them and you are in anyway into punk and poppunk check them out immediately. They are funny, catchy and as I've discovered, fucking immense live. Their 'gimmick' is that they are 4 masked colour coded band members who write songs that make fun of how creepy and stalker-ish pop punk songs can be and they can an 'arf write a damn catchy tune. Both of their albums have been on a constant loop for me and I even got my band to cover their song 'Heart Shaped Guitar'. So when I saw that they were playing in London, I snapped up tickets for me Jon and Dave to see them. The Old Blue last is actually a large pub with an upstairs with a small stage and a bar which makes for an intimate and sweaty experience and this was the perfect venue for lightning fast punk songs. Both supports artists were really good, standout being Sam Russo who reminded me of my beloved Frank Turner ( and it turns out I've heard his stuff before at a Franky gig). If you like honest, emotional songs by a guy and his guitar, Sam is a great one to catch.
Now the main event. After several brewskies we headed into the main area and got a glimpse of the infamous 'Officer Bradford' Masked Intruder's very own police officer who as we found out is very much part of the act. He stood solid at the side of the stage til about 3 songs in when the pit started going wild and he jumped, stage-dived, moshed and sang at people for the rest of the set. It was hilarious watching this guy throw himself around with gusto and pretend to arrest people and join in the banter with the band and audience. He also ended up just wearing his cop hat and a very small pair of pants which was funny. The band themselves were a great laugh, excellent banter, they kept in character the whole time and joked and heckled with the crowd. I even got a hug from Green after the show which was sweet. They sounded just as good as the albums only about 10 times faster which is funny cos the albums are very produced sounding and live its as viscous a punk show as you can get. Dave danced with Officer Bradford so his night was made and we all agreed it was the funniest gig we'd been to in ages. I highly recommend you check out their new release 'M.I' and the self titled debut. :D
Now the merch! As they are a small up and coming band, the merch stall was small but they did have a lot of different stuff, even matching balaclavas if you so wanted to join the band. All the shirts were for dudes so I decided on a small bowling tshirt which defo is in theme with the band. I think its great and cannot wait to catch them live again.
http://officerbradfordpickedmeup.tumblr.com/
