Humans, as a species, are riddled with irrational fear, ranging from the obvious (falling from heights, death, drowning) to the ridiculous (spiders and buttons...). The next time they do a survey to see what gets some of the nation anxious, they should check for certain reactions to charity workers lurking around city centres, asking if they could have a minute of your time. The approach does not appeal appeal to everyone; for some, even the thought of them is enough to induce a small panic attack – as the juxtaposition of wanting to help out whilst having no money is enough to make anyone crash.

Sometimes though, helping out is made easy for you. The Contact Theatre isn’t the most obvious venue for a gig, but that’s the very same reason it was a perfect fit for what Ctrl.Alt.Shift magazine are trying to do. In support of their ‘Corruption’ edition, they sought the help of the amazing Mind on Fire to create a truly unique night on Friday April 30.

Whilst going to a gig is usually a passive event, it’s was refreshing to see actual effort made to engage with the audience rather than simply lecturing to them, ranging from the live art being put on by the onefiveeight collective to giving out postcards to decorate with interpretations of the word ‘corruption’ (which are now on their way to Kenya to petition a politician for change in the country); it was obvious that this was more than an exercise in self-righteousness.

With live music from The Breadwinners and In The Loop to warm up a boisterous audience, it was headliners Nedry that really get the crowd enthused. Having recently had their debut album re-released through Monotreme records, the hype machine has slowly been clicking into gear surrounding the three-piece. In the flesh, it was obvious why they’ve been whipping tastemakers like Radio 1’s Huw Stephens into such a frenzy.

Played to the backdrop of a series of Ctrl.Alt.Shift short films (screened just behind them), they played what could easily pass as a greatest hits set, such is the depth of quality of the tracks they’ve already produced. Though their genre is famed for its rumbling bassline, it’s one that the band only use sparingly, but when they do it’s to shockingly great effect; notably in ‘Apples & Pears’ which truly got the ravers at the front moving. It was a sound that could work by itself, but Ayu’s swooning vocals were additionally truly breathtaking, whilst Matt and Chris swapped duties between messing around on iMacs and, most impressively, live layering with guitars. There couldn't have been more fitting music to take on the concept of corruption whilst retaining a degree of subtlety.

After another groundbreaking event, it's clear there have been many attempts to make doing good seem cool over the years, but few have ever been as successful as what Ctrl.Alt.Shift continually manages to achieve...

Words: Matthew Britton

Note:

Fancy over 30 minutes of dubstep heaven? Click here to download the Mind on Fire mixtape for Ctrl.Alt.Shift. It's lethal!