The Damned + Penetration. Leeds Academy. 17.11.16.

Massive thanks to fellow Buzzcocks fan AJ Phink who kindly sorted me a photo pass for this gig. He's a huge Damned fan. I'm not so much. They were brilliant back in the day but I really couldn't be bothered with the goth/cartoon/pantomime band they turned into. I didn't bother going to see them for years and years unless they were on with another band I really liked. Then I saw them at The Great British Alternative Music Festival in 2015 and they were back on form. Tonight though the highlight for me are Penetration.

AJ's review for The Punk Site can be found here.

Pixies / Fews. Newcastle. 03.12.16.

Pixies / Fews.
Newcastle Academy. 03.12.16.

What's normally a one hour drive to Newcastle for me tonight took at least 40 minutes longer and most of that last 40 minutes was spent crawling into a packed out Newcastle city centre. The place was heaving and judging by the way people were dressed it was party city rather than early evening Christmas shoppers.

Surprisingly we found a free car parking space quickly (the advantages of having a very small car) and made our way to the Academy. 

Fews were already on stage and it's a good job because I'm immediately hooked and this takes away some of the shock at having to pay over a fiver for a pint of bog standard cider. Fews own the stage and within minutes I know that I'm going to buy their debut album, 'Means', after the gig rather than a Pixies mug or tshirt.

If you like Interpol, PiL, The Feelies then you'll like Fews.

I'll admit I'd never heard of them before tonight so talking about their set list isn't going to happen. As far as I'm aware they only formed a few years ago, have released 4 singles (all on their debut album). Relentless, post-punk with a mesmerising beat is my way of describing them. Keep a look out for them and go see them if you can. I think they'll be around for a while.

Pixies do what the Pixies do. From the opening notes of their opening song the whole place is bouncing. Latest album Head Carrier is well represented and so is their back catalogue. Paz Lenchantin, the now permanent bass player, fits perfectly into the slot originally occupied by Kim Deal.

Um Chagga Lagga, the single from Head Carrier came early. Together with Gouge Away and Monkey Gone To Heaven it formed the first three songs of the set. Classic Masher, Talent, Baal's Back, All I Think About Now plus others are all played from the new album.  Bone Machine, Wave of Mutilation and Where Is My Mind? keep anyone who only knows the old songs happy. Debaser sends the whole place wild.

Pixies eventually disappear in a cloud of smoke. Literally. The venue fills with so much dry ice you can’t see the band. But you can still hear them. It’s a great end to a great gig.

All photos taken from at least 20 rows back with a cheapo compact camera. 

Lead single Um Chagga Lagga, just two songs in, was sandwiched between classics Gouge Away and Monkey Gone To Heaven, demonstrating the unshakeable confidence Francis has in his new work. It wasn't misplaced, as Classic Masher, Talent, Baal's Back and All I Think About Now (featuring Paz on lead vocals) sat comfortably alongside old favourites like Bone Machine, Wave of Mutilation and Where Is My Mind?

Read more at: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/whats-on/music/review-pixies-o2-academy-newcastle-1-8273426

Lead single Um Chagga Lagga, just two songs in, was sandwiched between classics Gouge Away and Monkey Gone To Heaven, demonstrating the unshakeable confidence Francis has in his new work. It wasn't misplaced, as Classic Masher, Talent, Baal's Back and All I Think About Now (featuring Paz on lead vocals) sat comfortably alongside old favourites like Bone Machine, Wave of Mutilation and Where Is My Mind?

Read more at: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/whats-on/music/review-pixies-o2-academy-newcastle-1-8273426

Evil Blizzard. 10.12.16.

Evil Blizzard’s Blizzmas Ball.

10.12.16.

Manchester Academy3.

Thought I'd post this even though it's now over 2 weeks since the gig. 

Brilliant night. 

The best I've seen them. Brilliant entertainment.
All extremely good natured and a lot of fun - I reckon it's the first time the bouncers have spent as much time controlling a band as they have the crowd. At one point one of the band was swinging over the crowd from the lighting scaffold that supposedly had a weight bearing limit of only 100kg. Loads of crowd surfers - the crowd and EB, bass guitars being passed around. Typical Blizz really but somewhat exaggerated tonight. Ramone, their manager who kindly gave me a pass, even said "just go anywhere you want cos you won't cause as much chaos as this lot tonight".

Rezillos, Johnny Seven, Death To Indie. 16.12.16.

Rezillos / Johnny Seven / Death To Indie.

Westgarth Social Club.

16.12.16.

Every year I drive hundreds of miles to watch gigs so I’m not sure why this is only my 4^th visit to the Westgarth which is, after all, only 20 miles from where I live. I’ve decided to put that right in 2017 and prioritise Westgarth gigs over others (unless it’s Buzzcocks). Why? Because it’s a great venue that puts on great gigs that are promoted by great people.

Tonight I arrive with my daughter (who is wisely realising that there is more to music than X-Factor) at 5pm having said I’ll help out with any pre gig work that might need to be done. By this time the Rezillos are already here and all the loading in has been done so the only useful thing I do is drive to the local supermarket to buy a can of hairspray for Eugene Reynolds and some lightbulbs for the merch stall.

We hang around for a bit. Death to Indie arrive followed by Johnny Seven. There’s a bit of drum and guitar sound-checking so we head to Akbars for a rather delicious curry.

We return to watch Death To Indie. If you haven’t seen them before then do so soon. A great combination of punk and pop that’s delivered with attitude and a real enthusiasm that’s infectious. Look them up – plenty of tunes on YouTube, SoundCloud and bandcamp. They work hard, they deserve to be bigger.

Johnny Seven don’t disappoint. Teesside band, formed in 1978, split in 1980 they reformed 31 years later to support …. The Rezillos. There’s a fair few people here to see them and they go down well. Melodic punk rock with some obvious influences (The Clash). I’ll admit it’s only the second time I’ve seen them but I’ll make sure I see them again. Based on tonight’s performance they have at least one new fan. After taking a few photos I turn round to see my daughter clapping her hands, tapping her feet and having a right good bop. The whole of their set tonight can be seen on YouTube. Take a look. Good stuff. They’re back at the Westgarth supporting The Godfathers on February 9^th. Definitely a gig where it’ll be worth arriving in time to catch the support bands.

The Rezillos start with guitarist Jim Brady telling us all “what a fucking shit year 2016 has been” then asking if there’s anyone under 18 in the crowd. I point to my daughter. He makes the point again. He’s right. For a lot of reasons it has.

This is the third time I’ve seen them in 12 months. The last time was at Butlins Alternative Music Festival back in October where they were one of the highlights of the weekend. They never fail to entertain. From opening song ‘I Can’t Stand My Baby’ you know it’s going to be a good night. This is a band enjoying themselves. Fantastic chemistry on stage. Fay Fife shakes and moves like a 60’s pop icon – exaggerate the dance moves from programmes such as Ready Steady Go and you’ll get the picture. Eugene Reynolds in his leopard skin patterned jacket, ripped t shirt, orange trousers and trademark wrap around shades looks little different from those first performances on Top Of The Pops 38 years ago.
Drink 20 cups of strong coffee in half an hour and I imagine you’d probably feel and perform like guitarist Jim Brady does tonight. A perfect accompaniment to Fife and Reynolds the three of them front of stage means you’d never be bored watching this band even if you’d never heard a single song they’d ever done. And throughout it all bassist Chris Agnew and drummer Angel Patterson keep the infectious rhythm beating along.
As for their set list it’s the perfect mix of songs from past and present. First album Can’t Stand The Rezillos is well represented. Songs you’d instantly recognise even if you didn’t know the band – Top Of The Pops, Destination Venus to name just two.

Getting Me Down, Mystery Action, No, It Get’s Me, My Baby Does Good Sculptures all keep our feet dancing, arms shaking and vocal chords singing along. Glad All Over needs to be started again after some timing issues. No 20 000 Rezillos Under The Sea tonight which is a shame but it’s absence does not take anything away from the gig.

Songs from their new, excellent, album Zero (2015) fit perfectly into the set. Take Me To The Groovy Room, Zero, Life’s A Bitch.

They finish with Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight. Last year, at this venue, this left Fay Fife with a broken tooth after a too close encounter with an enthusiastic crowd. Thankfully tonight no such thing happens.

Too many bands from ‘back then’ now rely on their old, ‘classic’, crowd pleasing songs when they play live. Not so the Rezillos. The Rezillos are as good now as they have always been. It’s not just music for old punks. It’s music for today and it’s still relevant. My daughter is 13. She summed up the Rezillos as follows – “Fun, poppy, bonkers, great to dance to and very, very entertaining”. She loves her Rezillos t shirt, her signed flyer and photo she had taken with Eugene (did I mention that they are also really nice people?). Perhaps if we all took our youngsters to gigs such as this the songs and music would continue to have a (bigger) audience and more and more youngsters would see just how crap and irrelevant shows such as X Factor really are.

The next day I post some photos to various Facebook pages including TheRezillos and JimBrady. I get a message back apologising for the bad language.

Rezillos play Brudenell Social Club, Leeds on 28.01.17. Supported by Department S and Flies On You. Three great bands for £18.00. An absolute bargain.

Death To Indie

Death To Indie

Johnny Seven

Johnny Seven

Rezillos

Rezillos

Rezillos

Rezillos

Rezillos