Oh, Pioneer at E.V.A.C. Liverpool. May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
When people criticise the young with the relentless enthusiasm associated with the post Victorian hangover that was so prevalent in the 1960s and ‘70s, the post war side effect of dogmatic unilateral hatred that was once rightly aimed at the forehead of Fascism but turned itself into its own parody by suggesting that all should be dealt with strict unfeeling indifference, that is the time in which to run for the hills and pray to whichever deity counts your musical soul as a personal possession that you never go so far down the route of being obnoxious, that even if it’s one thing only, you will find something to enjoy.
Thankfully for Oh, Pioneer, perhaps one of the exciting young talented bands to come out of Teeside for quite some time, the wonderful flashes of what is to come were long, filled with exuberance and good humour, there was no danger at all of ever falling into the pit of despair at all.
Opening up Fury Fest at the East Village Arts Centre, the Teeside quintet gave the gathering audience a kick start to the afternoon’s portion of the entertainment provided and the pop-punk process that wells up in the modern day young soul was let loose like a cheetah which had been cooped up in a cage for several days, the prowling had stopped and there was no way of stopping it from running a mock and its terrifying the faint hearted, it was a spectacle of good music in which to satisfy the caged animal within.
With overtones and strands being polished, the sometimes laid back affair of pop wrestling with the energy of 21st Century Punk, Oh, Pioneer gave a good account of themselves in what is the hardest slot to fill of any festival. With tracks such as Ghosts, Memories, Coming Home and Outgrown being performed, the early part of the afternoon swam by in a cool, collected and fun filled way. To really get to know the band, Liverpool audiences would need to get to see them over a longer period, however first introductions out of the way, there was enough to enjoy and sufficient pace to know that a second meeting should be hastily arranged and as quick as possible.
Oh, Pioneer have the guts, they have the sound, combined they could be superb.
Ian D. Hall