Small crowd. BIG Performance.
For any up and coming band, the opportunity to play in a venue like Islington O2 Academy 2 is pretty huge. Tonight Brighton's own, Ragweed, had just that chance at the cool little event 'Upsurge' which boasts a showcase of "The bands of today making the music for tomorrow". The only real issue tonight is the fact that the packed line up meant quite an early show time, in turn leaving it hard to get the punters in for everyone. Ragweed fell victim to this a bit, but this had nothing to do with their musical talent as the three-piece delivered a furious, confident, in-your-face performance. And by the end of the set they had gathered quite a lot of interest from the people drifting in.
In terms of an event this was a big show for Ragweed, but it was also made big by the fact that the new bassist had only been in the band for a few days. With that said, the band were as tight as ever in the live environment, ploughing through tracks like New Tricks from their EP Double Chalker alongside some exciting sounding newer material. The blend of grunge inspired scuzzy punk and catchy riffs helps make this band just so enjoyable live. With some more exciting shows lined up in the near future, including Edinburgh Fringe no less, it won't be long until Ragweed are topping the bill on events like this and getting in the crowds they really deserve in this type of venue. Big performance.