Express & Star

Negative Approach, Asylum Venue, Birmingham - review

When you think about the pioneers of American hardcore music, the names Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Jerry's Kids may well come to mind.

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Detroit hardcore legends Negative Approach way back in the day

Black Flag are likely to crop up, as are Agnostic Front, and sitting right there alongside them should be Negative Approach.

The Detroit crew only released one full album in their initial run in the early 80s, but the 10 short and sweet tracks on Tied Down have more than stood the test of time.

By the time they had split up in 1984 I was still in short trousers.

But like many people who got into hardcore at the end of that decade, NA became one of those almost mythical bands.

They did punk rock properly, dropping a classic LP and an EP before packing it all in. Their incendiary live shows were the stuff of legend.

Thankfully, at some point in the mid-noughties they came back, giving a whole new generation the chance to see what all the fuss was about.

And if Wednesday night's show at the Asylum proved one thing, it was that NA are more than worthy of their legendary status.

In front of an impressively packed crowd – midweek Brum shows can be hit-and-miss in terms of attendance – singer John Brannon positioned himself centre stage and adopted his familiar crouched position.

Then, like a ticking time bomb, it went off.

The band ripped into Hypocrite off Tied Down, before blasting out the like of Pressure and Whatever I Do from their self-titled 1982 EP.

For four old fellas they displayed an impressive amount of energy, which in turn was matched by the raucous crowd.

NA was, and still is, all about aggression, and it was hard not to feed off it.

There's nothing nuanced about their music, no concern for trends and little time for anything other than blasting out one hardcore anthem after another.

It's like fellow Motor City rockers MC5, only sped up, pi**ed off, and wearing a pair of Docs.

NA don't exactly have that many tracks to choose from, considering their less than extensive discography, but in half an hour they raced through most of their recorded output, barely pausing for breath.

They also threw in a few covers – largely unneeded in my opinion – including 4 Skins Chaos and the obligatory Sham 69 Borstal Breakout.

I'll never understand the American obsession with bog standard old UK punk.

The jet black haired Brannon kept his crowd interaction to a minimum, although the big smile on his face as the set drew to a close told its own story.

He was still grinning half an hour later, standing by the merch table and chatting with fans who had queued up for shirts.

NA are a hardcore institution that are still influencing bands to this day.

When one of the true greats does their legacy proud, it really is a pleasure to watch.