Meryl Streek / Squarms Live At Zerox Newcastle

A night off work, a gig to go to in Newcastle, what more could a music lover want.  Heading up to sample a great pie and mash at the Redhouse before the gig which is steps away from the Zerox venue that is hosting the volcano that is Meryl Streek, a bubbling cauldron of musical genius and lyrical brutality, a combination that has no equal, the anticipation is enough to give a butterfly or two to the stomach.   

If your not already aware of Meryl Streek then you should be, he is taking the world of punk and music in general to a whole new place, with a blend of electro music and spoken word that is so brutally honest, you can never be in any doubt of where he stands in the world.

This was my 1st time at this venue, on entering you are immediately transported to a Mr Doodle style room that’s been adultified, graffiti adorns the floor and paint splatters give a backdrop to the stage that at first glance could easily be mistaken for the aftermath of a bloody battle and from a photographers point of view, the lighting was going to be challenging, but from the stand point of the artist and audience, it was perfect!, atmosphere in spades and this was taken to a whole new level when the support band Squarms, hit the boards and assaulted our ears with their Benefits style musical atomic bomb, a mix of spoken words and rap, is maybe how I’d describe it (but then I am an old fart), the crowd loved it and that’s always a great sign to give this duo a reason to keep attacking the boundaries of music.   

Meryl Streek is the main reason we are all here tonight though, and for his one man attack on the senses. 

With songs that show all the distain about the world of the Catholic Church, the corrupt political systems that allow small minorities to control so much, in particular ‘False Apologies’ is a song that covers every inch of the first, but this is not just a man ranting about his anti religious institutions, or anti political corruptions, no Meryl also has a heart of pure love for his fellow man and how the latter treat them, he has time to fight for family and how drugs have broken the communities around him, with no time for apologies on how he shows the real anger about any of these subjects.  To see and hear this live and raw, was quite frankly spine tingling. The whole set was a furore of angst, energy and damn right passion, we left feeling assaulted in a good way.

thank you to Wandering Oak for hosting this event too.