Plank, Vei & Douga

8.5 I was hoping to catch hardcore punkettes Hysterics at The Castle after Plank and Vei played the Bay Horse on Thursday, but Plank went on nearly half an hour late so it was not possible. Nevermind, Plank played the best gig I've heard them play since Liam Stewart took over the drumming, and Jamie Robinson's visual projections were a welcome animation for two rather static bands; Vei all black and white film-noir disquiet and Plank overwhelming psychedelic multi-coloured shapes and lines. The penultimate Plank track, so new it wasn't recorded for the forthcoming album, demonstrated Dave Rowe's John Adams and Steve Reich influences more audibly than anything else they've written. Johnny Winbolt-Leiws gave me a CDR of the excellent new Douga album "The Silent Well" and as there will only be 99 CD copies made, you'd better snap one up fast when it's released in June.