Old Friends Venerea Are Back! (2008)

1991 was a watershed year for the global hardcore scene. Hardcore/punk/rock bands that are huge today were popping up left and right, and Sweden’s Venerea are no exception. The four-piece, known from day one for fast, technically tight hardcore punk, picked up extra cred with former Satanic Surfers drummer Rodrigo Alfaro, who joined Venerea in 2006 when the “devil surfers” decided to call it quits. With that lineup, they returned last Wednesday, October 8, to the scene of the crime, Ljubljana’s Orto bar, where we finally got a whiff of some more homegrown, European hardcore, since this year we’ve mostly been flooded with shows from the giants of the American hardcore/punk scene like No Use For A Name, Strung Out, Ignite, Lagwagon and Less Than Jake. The opening act was the much-talked-about Golliwog, a band with a woman as its “capo di banda”.

The floor of Orto bar’s upstairs room started shaking a bit before ten in the evening, when the place was still half empty. Most of the crowd was friends and acquaintances of Golliwog, from Ribnica, and you could tell from their good thirty minutes of jumping around on stage. If it seemed at first like their set would be a decent overture, it didn’t take long before plenty of people felt like they were at a private party rather than a gig. The band kept dedicating songs to this person and that person, and quite a few folks went out for some fresh air during the set. The real drive just wasn’t there. Maybe it was the way-too-long dithering between songs, maybe it was Saša’s twisted belching into the mic (even if plenty of people found that funny). Not even that little bit of energy that would’ve turned the set into a proper frenzy developed in the crowd, and a lot of people were wishing they’d get off the stage already. It’s a harsh but true fact that Golliwog just aren’t what they were a few years ago, and that shows in a lack of both musical and lyrical talent.

After a good twenty-minute break, when Orto filled up nicely, things got going for real. Venerea, legends of the Swedish punk rock scene, returned to a Ljubljana stage after three years and kicked off with “Throwing Bricks”. The crowd was a lot more reserved than expected. Maybe Golliwog, who hadn’t exactly left a great impression, were to blame for that. But with the second song, “For The Present”, things started turning around. Almost every head was bobbing, and by “Woodfall” all the brakes came off and a murderous moshpit broke out. The energy we’d been missing finally showed up. “Ten Years” is another track the guys put on their latest studio album, “Out Louder”. Their eleventh album in a row marks an important turning point in their career, since it came out in 2005 on the eminent independent Swedish label Bad Taste Records, which can go toe to toe with America’s Fat Wreck Chords. Venerea, who were originally known as Venereal Disease, carried on with “In God We Trust”, the national motto of the United States of America, even though the lyrics of the song are anything but patriotic. Another gem from that album is “Rearview”. Alongside the ever-growing moshpit, you could spot a few slightly less successful stage dives, and the blame lay squarely with a crowd that couldn’t be bothered to catch anyone. Everybody preferred to jump around on their own. Worth mentioning, too, is that Orto bar wasn’t packed to the rafters like at the Strung Out show. On August 14, Venerea’s newest EP, “Black Beach Recordings” (Bad Taste Records), saw the light of day, featuring “Rise With The Tide” and “Folkestone Trawlers”. Two standout tracks and two devilishly good ones. Maybe not as “hard” as we’re used to, but still very much in Venerea’s style. And although it’s been just over two months since the release, they’ve already lodged themselves surprisingly well in the ears of a crowd receptive to this kind of music. The guys score even bigger with the old underground hits, though. “Road To Never”, “Scythe”, “Make Me Stay” and “Love Is A Battlefield” are just four of them, but they can coax some proper animal brawling out of a person.

The guys announced the release of the new EP, “Black Beach Recordings”, over the summer with the single “Living It For The Moment”. It’s also the first “little” record where you can hear Rodrigo Alfaro. Not only did Venerea gain recognition with it, their rhythm section got a serious boost too. “Sam The Dancing Bear” now sounds a lot more melodic. The guys carried on with “Calling Card” and “Guantanamo”, the first two tracks on their latest studio album, “One Louder”. Over at Bad Taste Records, they clearly knew where a band needs nurturing to grow. With “Back To The Start” the guys wrapped up the first part of the show, but the party-hungry crowd wouldn’t let them leave the stage. Almost without a break they went on to play “All Washed Up” and “Libertine”. A little before midnight they closed their set with “Son Of A Beach” and the fourth track from the EP “Black Beach Recordings”, “Bearer Of The Cross”. Even though the crowd wanted more, the guys held their ground and headed off for some well-earned rest.

With their show, the Swedes of Venerea successfully ushered the crowd into the autumn hardcore/punk gig season. Here’s to many more shows like this …

 

Text: Lea Lesar

Photos: Mojca Perdih