Back at The Westgarth
for another gig. A proper social club with locals enjoying a few pints and a
game of snooker in one room while bands throw out some noise in the room next
door.
I've said it before and
I'll say it again - the sound engineer at these gigs works wonders and tonight
is no exception. Small room, great sound. Some big venues would benefit from giving this guy a job.
First up are King Mojo.
The third time I've had the pleasure of witnessing them play in 2017 and
probably the best. New wave mod, there’s a huge Weller/Jam sound here, with
subtle hints of punk rock guitar and 60’s garage all coming together to create
powerful tunes that get your feet moving. Tonight they seem tighter, more
together than the last time I saw them (supporting Toyah). Oz (guitar &
vocals), Tetley (keyboard/vocals), Dave and Adrian (bass & drums) are
clearly talented at what they do, the sound system really allowing them to
shine. Yet another decent opening act.
 |
| King Mojo |
 |
| King Mojo |
 |
| King Mojo |
For an hour The Fallen Leaves treat us to
their own blend of catchy, guitar driven garage punk that includes songs from
all four of their albums. Rob Green, complete with maracas, flask of tea, shades, rather
cool walking stick (used for nothing more than resting his arms and gunning
down the audience) and vintage microphone blows smoke rings whilst almost
crooning his way through the perfect pop punk of ’Prodigal Son’, ‘I Made A Mistake’, ‘Lavender Girl’, ‘Shining’, ‘Silvie Says’. New song ‘Green Eyes’ (?) slots in
perfectly alongside crowd pleasers ‘Motorcycle Girl’ and singles
‘Out In A Forest’ and ‘Trouble’. Throughout it all Rob Symmons hammers out note perfect twanging guitar whilst bassist Matthew Karas stands
effortlessly cool in his paisley smoking jacket and the impressive drumming of Buddy
Ascott (originally of ‘79/’80 mod band The Chords) holds it all together from the
rear of the stage.
A
cheeky pre-gig request for ‘My Phantoms’, not on the original set-list, is granted and makes this a perfect gig for me.
No
shouting, no swearing, no deafening, thrashing guitars. This really is ‘Punk Rock For Gentlemen’.
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
 |
| The Fallen Leaves |
nice review matey and I love your photos too
ReplyDeleteThank you. I appreciate you leaving a comment. Glad you like it.
Delete