Oi Oi!
Boston punkers The Unseen have been going for around fifteen years now and there’s something about a band that’s been together for that long that really shows. They are a straight up hardcore punk outfit but the years of honing their trade have really paid off as they put in a great performance.
Drummer turned singer Mark Unseen wastes no time in getting the crowd going, jumping down to the front rows, who respond in frenzied fashion during ‘Social Damage’. This is classic punk rock with the band playing at 100mph and whirling around the stage with an energy that is rare on this stage over the weekend. The choruses are big and are just made both to be shouted by a crowd and to facilitate a circle pit, both of which occur frequently.
There is no let up in their intensity and they cram a lot into their 40 minute slot. Old favourite ‘What You Gonna Do?’ is great, as is ‘So Sick of You’, the song they wrote in response to the band Darkbuster (who noone has ever heard of) after they accused The Unseen of selling out and garnered something of a hate campaign. The highlight of the set though comes with ‘Are We Dead Yet?’, which is just brilliant - impressive, catchy and a much needed injection of real punk on this stage. Sure it’s very much old school but it’s very well done. During ‘Right Before Your Eyes’ there’s a guy carrying his young daughter around the circle pit much to everyone’s amusement. Start ‘em young!
They finish with a rousing cover of the Stones ‘Paint it Black’, which reignites the flagging circle pit and puts the seal on what’s been a fine performance and one of the most enjoyable sets of the day.