Sonic Boom Six @ Basement, Rock City [11/02/2012]

Sonic Boom Six w/ Hildamay

For those of you who haven’t heard, Sonic Boom Six are a five-piece rock/ska/urban/electro (I’ll get round to the genre later) outfit from Manchester who’ve just embarked on their winter 2012 headline tour this year.

They first caught my eye, and ears, last year when I saw them supporting Reel Big Fish and this time round they were even better. Their trademark mash up of ska, pop, grime, dubstep, punk AND metal, topped with witty vocals from both a male and female lead is deliciously different.

Wowing the crowds with energetic dance moves, weird instruments, vigorous lyrics and impressive stage presence – this diverse quintet performed lots of new material including The High Cost of Living (politically driven but still a lot of fun) Gary Got a Gun (inspired) and Keep on Believing.

Of course, some of the fan favorites were there including Virus, Piggy in the Middle (one to check out if you’ve never heard them before) and their most requested B-side The Dangers of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

It seemed a crime than the Basement at Rock City was only half full but hopefully their performance at HMV’s Next Big Thing this month will have increased their following.

Lead female Laila Khan bares a striking resemblance to Jessie J – something she seems to have noticed – as she sang a sample of her hit Price Tag as Sonic Boom Six played Sunny Side of the Street.

Her co-lead Barney Boom reeked of council estate charm (if there is such a thing? maybe he invented it) and managed to master a host of instruments while rapping.

There were wolf-hands and mosh pits aplenty as Strange Transformation echoed around the room, a werewolf inspired number that excited the crowd, as well as Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!

Coming back for an encore of Bigger Than Punk Rock, these down to earth musicians jumped off stage to meet the crowd and sell their own merchandise.

Talent ridden Manchester may have spawned these guys, but can we keep ‘em?

Sarah Mitchell – Platform

Tags: barney boom, basement, concert, gig, laila khan, manchester, nottingham, review, rock city, show, sonic boom six, tickets