It’s an
early start and consequently I arrive at the tail end of Oilbirds set. I’m also
slightly distracted when the speaker stack comes crashing down a couple of
meters from where I’m stood. Thankfully nobody hurt but a nice chunk taken out
of the table where Steve and Wendy are sitting. What I do see of Oilbirds
impresses me a lot. Garage punky blues – Timothy Oxnard’s new outfit (they
played their first gig in March) certainly sound like they’re going to make a
decent mark on the music scene and I’ll make sure I see them again when they
play.
Sunderland’s
The Milk Lizards step up and keep us entertained with some superbly danceable
surf rock. With a constant background sound of waves lapping on the shore The
Milk Lizards play only instrumentals. Instrumentals that range from driving
rhythms overlaid with reverb soaked guitar on tracks such as ‘Defcon 5’ to a
much more laid back but heavier vibe on ‘Good Cop Bad Cop’. They don’t even speak between tunes but play
a recorded “Thank you very much” after each track. This is music for hot summer
nights sitting under a palm tree watching the sun go down. Even in the Westgarth
with The Milk Lizards playing your mind wanders to sunnier climes.
Snakerattlers
impress once again. Rock n roll with real attitude. Just one guitar, two drums
and a cymbal and one hell of a snarling voice from Dan Oliver Gott. Combine
them and you get a superb blend of rockabilly, country and punk. Powerful
guitar riffs and thumping drum beats from Naomi Gott drive us through the manic
‘Let You Go’, ‘Rattlerock Rumble’ and more. With a stare that seems possessed
DG stares at the crowd, and at his wife, occasionally right in your face as he
takes his guitar and its savage riffs into the crowd leaving Naomi to knock out
the beats alone on stage. It’s good to hear new songs and an indication there’s
more to come from this intense, powerful duo.
Barrence
Whitfield & The Savages deliver pure, good time R&B tinged rock ‘n’
roll. From opening song ‘Slowly Losing My Mind’ the Westgarth transforms into
full on party mood. Barrence sings, shouts, wails through a set list that
doesn’t let you go for even a second. New album ‘Soul Flowers Of Titan’ features heavily - ‘Pain’, ‘Lets Go To Mars’, ‘Adorable’,
‘Sunshine Don’t Make The Sun’ all thundering bursts of energy with superb sax,
heavy blues guitar and energy that takes you completely out of yourself to a
place where nothing matters except the beat driving through you. Things slow
down with the sultry groove of ‘Tingling’ providing moments to catch your
breath before ‘The Claw’, from 2015’s Under
The Savage Sky raises the tempo and the temperature once again. But it’s
not all about recent releases and with a significant back catalogue to draw
from we’re treated to early classics ‘Bip Bop Bip’, ‘Walking With Barrence’,
‘Bloody Mary’, and more from way back in
1984 / 85. Songs that have stood the test of time, still sound great and still
deliver hard hitting, infectious rhythms.
It’s hot outside tonight. Inside it’s melting with sweat dripping from
band and audience alike. The fact that the place is still bouncing after a set
of more than 20 songs is testament to the energy and pure entertainment that seeps
from every pore of Barrence Whitfield & The Savages. Surely another gig
that will sit comfortably in my top 10 by the end of the year.
