Published
UNIVERSITY, a bunch of youngsters from a little town in northern England called Crewe, in Cheshire, who perfectly embody the future of punk rock. Somewhere between punk, emo and math rock, their songs switch time signatures, stop dead and suddenly kick back in.
Ewan, wearing a hat that looks like it came straight out of Alaska, plays bass. Zak sings his heart out, plays guitar and keeps the setlist handwritten in one of those leather-spined notebooks that tie shut with a ribbon. I bet it's full of drawings and song lyrics. Joel drums to the point of exhaustion, as if his life depended on it. At one point, one of his drumsticks goes flying.
They finish each song covering their faces from the effort and near-ecstasy. Zak plays barefoot. Sometimes Ewan puts down his bass and kneels to work on effects.
I plucked up the courage to talk to Ewan while he was waiting to order food at one of the food trucks. I told him the soundcheck had sounded incredible and that I couldn't wait to see them that night. He thanked me and said he hoped it would sound even better during the show.
They started ten minutes early and finished twenty minutes ahead of schedule. They left us spellbound, though wanting more. At the end, Zak came over to the audience, chatted with us and shook our hands. When we asked for the setlist, one lucky person got the page torn straight out of the notebook he had written it in. I told him I'd seen him at Paredes and his eyes lit up. He told us it was their first time playing in Spain and they'd loved it.
I'm still hoping to talk to Joel next time. I hope it won't be long before they're back. What a great gig! What a privilege to have witnessed their performance last night.