Time to burn

UltraBomb | Dead Boys | Hüsker Dü

In lieu of well thought out words, this issue offers some video from UltraBomb’s excellent first UK gig at the Camden Underworld.

I’ve taken on too much this week, what with various actual work things, plus some reviews, including a forthcoming one for Friday’s UltraBomb gig. So this issue goes heavy on video rather than words, but the shift is worth it.

Formed in 2021, UltraBomb are Hüsker Dü’s Greg Norton, Finny McConnell from The Mahones and Jamie Oliver (U.K. Subs, Anti-Nowhere League and more). Their debut album Time to Burn was recorded at Berlin’s Studio 25 last autumn, with the majority of its lyrics supplied by Norton. It featured the singles ‘Stickman Vs Hangman’, ‘Star’ and ‘Fear Your Gods’, and all were given an outing on Friday.

There are some pictures and a few snippets of video from the gig on my various social media accounts, but what I’ve been keeping for readers of Fire Red Sky - just as I did with the recent Dinosaur Jr issue - are the longer videos I took at the show.

They’re mainly in a portrait view because when you’re in the front row at the Underworld you’re close enough to rest your arms on the monitors (or jump back slightly, lest Greg Norton brain you with the head stock of his bass).

That’s great for getting up close and personal with the band, particularly when Finny’s trying to melt your face with a guitar solo, but less so when it comes to taking video of the whole band at the same time.

According to a post on The Mahones’ Facebook page, the setlist was: Time to Burn, Fear Your Gods, Broken Heart (a new song), Stickman vs Hangman, Star, It’s Not Funny Anymore, Punk Rock Saved My Life (another new one), Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely, Bang Punk, Like the Wind, Sonic Reducer, New Day Rising. All very different from the last time Hüsker Dü played London, when the bulk of the setlist was a truncated run-through of Warehouse: Songs and Stories.

Finally, I hope your week has all the joy of Greg Norton in the last video above at the seven-second mark.

Main image: Ian Talmacs on Unsplash