Twitter revisited, G20, The Enemy & Twisted Wheel reviews from the Dome

Written by wolfeeboy.

This article is an addendum to the previous 'Twitter, what's it all about?' piece, and a qustion regarding police behaviour towards protesters in the light of recent events, plus a few other questions that brings up, finishing with a review of two of the bands I saw last night at The Dome in Brighton, The Enemy, and Twisted Wheel. I enjoyed writing it, so hope you will enjoy reading it.

09-04-2009

Firstly, just a couple of points to add to the ‘Twitter, what’s it all about?’ blog I posted. A glaring omission, was the supposed constraints of only being able to use 140 characters in each update, but after a while you see how the users begin adapting and creating a shorthand way of communicating, much like many of us already do when texting on our mobiles, such as ‘m8’ for mate, using letters, ‘c u’ for ‘see you’, and capitalising letters to get ‘BTW’ for ‘by the way’, and many more inventive ways in which the Twitterers are coming up with to get their points across in as short a hand as is possible. Of course some don’t bother to abridge their message, but just continue into another update, each to their own.

Another use for Twitter which I’ve been trying to get over to upcoming band Absent Elk, was its ability to bring their fans closer, giving them an insider view of their favourite group, backstage pictures uploaded on to Twitpic, updates on where they are, where their next gig will be, anything they think the fans will want to know, and all in real time. I fully expect many bands will use it for just that purpose, and not be disappointed.

Also to add, especially after the recent G20 summit and protests, would be the ‘real time’ aspect of Twitters updates. A prime example was the picture, taken by a Twitterer on his phone, of the airliner which ditched into the Hudson River in New York, as well as numerous reports from other Twitterers explaining what was going on, all in real time. There were also reports of the Mumbai terrorists using Twitter to communicate with each other as they carried out there attack on the hotel, as well as witness reports of the situation as it was played out. Most recently were the G20 protests, which I followed through quite a few Twitterers, giving their own accounts of the events, whilst simultaneously uploading photos on Twitpic for any followers to see. Newspapers even sent out ‘on the spot’ Twitterers to cover the occasion, thus showing their grasp of its possible value to media reporting.

All which brings me neatly to a disturbing matter concerning our ‘riot’ police, all caught on camera by someone in the right place at the right time (obviously not as far as the constabulary are concerned). Ian Tomlinson, unemployed, had been helping his mate Barry Smith selling papers on a news stand, but they’d sold out early so Barry said to go. A fateful moment for poor Ian, as the video evidence will prove beyond any doubt, he was hit in the legs from behind with a police baton, then the same officer charged into his back throwing him to the floor, all of this while Ian had his hands in his pockets. Half an hour later he was dead, having suffered a heart attack.

The real problem as I see it is this, where do these police officers get the idea that they have the right to behave in this manner? Are they not supposed to be public servants? Clearly, on the face of such evidence, some don’t think so. I’ve had cause to cross paths in similar situations with the police at football matches, and when things get a bit tense the long arm of the law can be quite unnecessarily forceful. Now I don’t want be too sweeping of the police force as a whole, but the fact is, with any organisation of that size, and given its duties, it will always attract a certain kind of person to its ranks, someone keen to be put in a position of having power over others. Maybe was bullied at school and wants some payback, or was a bully and wants the chance to carry on, neither reason is a good one, but how do you identify them?, well I believe the video evidence of Ian Tomlinsons ‘aggressor’ identifies at least one such bad apple which could do with being rooted out, and hopefully punished in just the same way as if the roles were reversed.

On a lighter note, I went to see, (or hear really), the The Enemy playing at the Dome, Brighton last night, a band I’ve heard about before, but not actually heard until I Googled them yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. I read an article about these lads from the Midlands being compared in some way to The Jam, now in my books that can only be a good thing, so I got online and booked my ticket. Well before I get to the Enemy, I have to tell you about the band on before them, Twisted Wheel, not since I last saw the Prodigy have I witnessed such raw energy combined with fast paced, punk fashioned, get in the mosh pit and pogo your sweaty tits off, abso bleedin’ lutely cracking a performance as I saw last night. With their blistered fingers guitar playing at full throttle, completely matched by the drummer, I stood there mesmerised and loving every sweet moment of their set, my favourite song being ‘Let them have it all’. They put me in mind a little, of Stiff Little Fingers from the punk era of the 70’s, Twisted Wheel would have gone down a storm back then, and so should they now, how I’d love to see them back at the Dome as headliners, so they could get the crowd reaction their music really deserves, rather than someone else’s fans, but their time in the sun can’t be far away. And they have great song titles too, ‘She’s a weapon’, ‘Smash it up’, and ‘Let them have it all’, may soon be much better known across these isles if what I saw last night was anything to go by.

And on to The Enemy, feeling a little worn out (very happily so) after the Twisted Wheel, I settled into listening for this band that had been likened in some way to The Jam, and also to witness the crowd reaction to them. It wasn’t a full house, but the standing auditorium was heaving, and soon throbbing in time with the lads as they delivered their tunes to an excited and appreciative audience. I was up in the Gods looking down on the whole show, and one thing I should mention here, is that the Dome is a fantastic gig venue, were I 20 years younger I’d defo want to be down at the front, but from up there you get to enjoy watching the crowd as well as the band. The pulse of the heads going up and down to the beats was confined at first to perhaps a quarter of the standing area, gradually increasing as the better known tunes were played, until, ‘Away from here’, and ‘Live and die in this town’, were banging out, by which time the whole standing area was a huge seething mass of barnets going ape in time with their heroes. ‘Live and die’ was the tune that reminded me of the Jam, the guitar play very similar to that on ‘That’s Entertainment’, with a bit of ‘Town called malice’ thrown in for good measure, clearly they’ve been influenced to a degree by the Modsters, and that’s no bad thing as far as I’m concerned. They even took the time to wish one of their roadies a happy birthday on stage, and then get the crowd to sing the loudest ‘Happy Birthday to you’ I’ve ever witnessed. I left the gig feeling like Id had my birthday present early.