Greta

with Motörhead at Lupo’s
by Paul Lee

An unlikely gathering. That’s what I thought when I first laid eyes on the four guys that make up Greta. I caught the last part of their set at Axis on the Concrete Corner Tour. Alongside two other great bands, singer Paul churned out some intense hardcore. That was the impression that lingered.

Greta returned to the area (well, Providence) to open for the illustrious Motörhead at Lupo’s. I had already been taken by Greta’s first release, No Biting (Polygram). I know Greta could pound on disc, but I had to see what they did in the flesh. What hit me was that Paul was this slight guy (belying his powerful silk to sand paper voice) dressed in a cardigan sweater and hush puppies and would have gotten the mark of approval from Mr. Rogers.

Enough with the visuals here. What Greta churns out is punk/hardcore edged sonics with plenty of melody worthy of the Beatles. Motörhead fans not being the most open-minded of folks were a hard sell on Greta, but their neck-damage songs like “Get Off the Slug” might have penetrated a few noggins. A great tune to get an impression of Greta’s stylistic range is “Love is Dead” which begins with a jazzy, ’20s sort of melody, and then tears into an overdriven hardcore slam. Greta is diverse, and it is this strength which sets them apart from the usual ’90s punk fare.