Music > Live Reviews

Wonk Unit

Voodoo Daddy's Showroom

09/12/16

It was with some excitement that I headed to The Owl Sanctuary on a dark, dank school night in December to see Wonk Unit. Having seen them twice previously I was looking forward to seeing them headline at one of Norwich’s best venues. Before this though there were three support acts to warm us up.

First on were Paper Champ who were playing only their second gig together. At times this showed but there were moments where the band were fully in sync and delivered some strong sounding punk/punk-metal. I heard elements of Iron Maiden amongst the athletic drumming and lead guitar which is no bad thing. The more pop-punk sounding songs were probably the weakest on show tonight but even so it was an enjoyable start to the evening.

Next up were Project Mork. They played with huge energy and impressed with their mastery of crazy time signatures. A real mix of genres was on show tonight ranging from metal, punk, and ska. Each band member wielded their instruments expertly, the bass player Barney a particular highlight. Perhaps they could have done with a little more variety in the feel of their songs but despite this it was an enjoyable performance and the large crowd that had assembled duly got down to the music.

Third on last night was MC iPod and it was a huge change in pace of the evening. In fact this was either the most ridiculous thing I have seen in a long time or one of the most intelligent. It consisted of one man with his computer rapping on a range of subjects including wrestling, zombies and superficiality. Whichever way I look at it there is no doubt that it was utterly surreal but also cheek hurtingly amusing at times and dare I say it, enjoyable. MC iPod carried himself with complete confidence and his self-depreciating manner helped the crowd warm to him. Ending his set with Your Band’s Shit which I think was in no way ironic he left the stage promising a return in 2017. I’d urge people to go and watch just for the experience. 

On to the main event and after the last support it felt like Wonk Unit had a completely blank slate to do whatever they liked on stage. What they did was launch headlong into their show rattling off belting song after belting song. Seeing as it was the Mr. Splashy tour new cuts such as I Told You So, We Are The England and Awful Jeans were in abundance. These fitted so well into the set that they were greeted like old classics with an energetic crowd going for it down the front and most of the audience singing all the lyrics.

When the more established numbers were rolled out the crowd lapped it up. Go Easy provoked air guitaring, Rambo fist pumping machismo and Elbows some synchronised stuttering arm movements. Wonk Unit had the crowd in palm of their hands from the outset and played excellently throughout. The rumbling bass and drum lines drove the songs forward, the guitar elevated them and lead singer Alex’s delivery of the lyrics and his personality kept the crowd in thrall. Even the ‘sad numbers’ as Alex calls them exuded an air of freedom. Guts was powerful all-out attack and a rare outing of Different managed to sound almost euphoric despite the difficult subject matter and was a highlight of the show.

With only time for a few more tracks Wonk Unit threw the choice of two songs to the floor and Donkey Of The Damned emerged as the winner. It caused havoc on the dancefloor. Another request resulted in She Cut Her Finger before they capped the night off with the brilliant Kings Road Sporting Heroes. With that the show ended. It was one hour of sublime music which resulted in extended applause and cheering as the band made their way off the stage and through the crowd.

Wonk Unit are excellent at what they do. At times it seems effortless but that doesn’t come from anything but talent, passion and hard work. Speaking to Alex beforehand he said they were feeling relaxed and were sure of a good show as they had been touring for three months already. How right he was to be so confident – it was a masterful performance. See them whenever you get the chance.