Sunday, April 10
Another weekend, another goth night
It's no exaggeration to say that i've been to a hell of a lot of gigs lately, and yes dear reader, I haven't mentioned them all on this humble blog...... Time to put that right as we take a trip back in time...
Two weeks ago...
Zombina and the Skeletones @ The Windsor, Birmingham
The Windsor is a strange venue. The stage and dancefloor is situated in the middle of the room, so it's perfectly possible to stand behind the drummer throughout the gig and even perhaps tap him on the shoulder and perhaps tell him he isn't keeping in time. Tonight it had been taken over by local promoters the Brain Dead Collective for an evening of deathrock.
Now I don't say this lightly, but support band The October Country are the worst band I have ever seen. The singer is five feet tall, bald, welsh and wearing a full length leopardskin coat. He is a cross between Richard O'Brien and shuffling Welsh darts legend Richie Burnett. He takes his top off, he rolls around on the floor, he screams and shouts, he does a strange dance like a crab. He is a complete fool...
Headliners Zombina and the Skeletones are a bunch of teenage scousers who are dressed as if they've just been in a car accident, complete with fake blood and bandages. They play a brand of knees up gothabilly (so the goth kids tell me) that's impossible to dislike. They've even got one of those clapped out sounding keyboards like the Inspiral Carpets used to have. Their best song is called Nobody Likes You (When You're Dead) and you can listen to this and some other tracks on their Soundclick page.
Last weekend...
Mika Bomb @ Bar Academy, Birmingham
OK you've got me bang to rights copper, this isn't a goth night, it's a night of Japanese rock organised by those lovely Cold Rice people. It's a poignant night to host a celebration of J-Rock, as it is two days after the death of the legendary Hideaki Sekiguchi (AKA Bass Wolf) from Guitar Wolf. We get a screening of their fantastically over the top zombie / slasher film Wild Zero to remember him by.
I've wanted to see Mika Bomb for ages, but I've got a definite case of gig fatigue I leave a little disappointed. It's not that they're bad, just not exceptional. Their songs are good, but apart from stand out tracks like Heart Attack, they tend to all sound the same. It doesn't help that the crowd aren't really into it, apart from one crazy over the top woman who keeps trying to grab hold of the singer. I feel like saying to them "It's not you, it's me", as I slope off before the encore, but i'm sure they wouldn't believe me....
This weekend...
Devilish Presley @ Junktion 7, Nottingham
Things went wrong almost immediately when I got into Nottingham city centre and realised that I was wearing yellow to go to a goth night. Well, my T-shirt was mustard coloured actually, but would that stop the black-clad hordes laughing at me into their cider and black?
Time for a gothic version of The Apprentice:
First band Abigail's Mercy sound like Lacuna Coil or Evanescence would if they came from Grimsby or Mansfield. A five-piece, alternating between soaring female vocals and gruff male vocals, they play a passable, workmanlike brand of goth metal. Full marks for the singers corset, but it all goes wrong when they play a cover of Paint It Black. The singer holds the mic into the crowd, to encourage the three-strong fanclub from Lincoln to sing along with the chorus. All goth credibility is lost. YOU'RE FIRED!
Second band All Gone Dead are pretty bad. They look, good but that's about it. Their elegant bone structure, expensive clothes and equipment, fail to hide a basic lack of talent or any memorable songs whatsoever. They even have their own strobe light which they preen into and pose, and don't let the headline band use. Awful. FIRED!
Devilish Presley are a duo comprising guitarist/vocalist Johnny Navarro and bassist/vocalist Jacqui Vixen and a drum machine. The Gothic White Stripes? Well, not really, the interplay between the pair makes them more similar to The Kills... Their sound is a little lightweight, but that is more than made up for by boundless energy levels and catchy, hooky songs. The crowd tonight is pretty sparse, but you can imagine them holding the crowd in a packed club in their home turf of Camden in the palm of their hands...
Special mention has to go to the DJ, who played Mr Clarinet by The Birthday Party. Due to it's disturbing nature, this is possibly the first time this song has been played in public since 1987. Nice work DJ Cavey Nick!
Fincho also reviews the Devilish Presley gig.
It's no exaggeration to say that i've been to a hell of a lot of gigs lately, and yes dear reader, I haven't mentioned them all on this humble blog...... Time to put that right as we take a trip back in time...
Two weeks ago...
Zombina and the Skeletones @ The Windsor, Birmingham
The Windsor is a strange venue. The stage and dancefloor is situated in the middle of the room, so it's perfectly possible to stand behind the drummer throughout the gig and even perhaps tap him on the shoulder and perhaps tell him he isn't keeping in time. Tonight it had been taken over by local promoters the Brain Dead Collective for an evening of deathrock.
Now I don't say this lightly, but support band The October Country are the worst band I have ever seen. The singer is five feet tall, bald, welsh and wearing a full length leopardskin coat. He is a cross between Richard O'Brien and shuffling Welsh darts legend Richie Burnett. He takes his top off, he rolls around on the floor, he screams and shouts, he does a strange dance like a crab. He is a complete fool...
Headliners Zombina and the Skeletones are a bunch of teenage scousers who are dressed as if they've just been in a car accident, complete with fake blood and bandages. They play a brand of knees up gothabilly (so the goth kids tell me) that's impossible to dislike. They've even got one of those clapped out sounding keyboards like the Inspiral Carpets used to have. Their best song is called Nobody Likes You (When You're Dead) and you can listen to this and some other tracks on their Soundclick page.
Last weekend...
Mika Bomb @ Bar Academy, Birmingham
OK you've got me bang to rights copper, this isn't a goth night, it's a night of Japanese rock organised by those lovely Cold Rice people. It's a poignant night to host a celebration of J-Rock, as it is two days after the death of the legendary Hideaki Sekiguchi (AKA Bass Wolf) from Guitar Wolf. We get a screening of their fantastically over the top zombie / slasher film Wild Zero to remember him by.
I've wanted to see Mika Bomb for ages, but I've got a definite case of gig fatigue I leave a little disappointed. It's not that they're bad, just not exceptional. Their songs are good, but apart from stand out tracks like Heart Attack, they tend to all sound the same. It doesn't help that the crowd aren't really into it, apart from one crazy over the top woman who keeps trying to grab hold of the singer. I feel like saying to them "It's not you, it's me", as I slope off before the encore, but i'm sure they wouldn't believe me....
This weekend...
Devilish Presley @ Junktion 7, Nottingham
Things went wrong almost immediately when I got into Nottingham city centre and realised that I was wearing yellow to go to a goth night. Well, my T-shirt was mustard coloured actually, but would that stop the black-clad hordes laughing at me into their cider and black?
Time for a gothic version of The Apprentice:
First band Abigail's Mercy sound like Lacuna Coil or Evanescence would if they came from Grimsby or Mansfield. A five-piece, alternating between soaring female vocals and gruff male vocals, they play a passable, workmanlike brand of goth metal. Full marks for the singers corset, but it all goes wrong when they play a cover of Paint It Black. The singer holds the mic into the crowd, to encourage the three-strong fanclub from Lincoln to sing along with the chorus. All goth credibility is lost. YOU'RE FIRED!
Second band All Gone Dead are pretty bad. They look, good but that's about it. Their elegant bone structure, expensive clothes and equipment, fail to hide a basic lack of talent or any memorable songs whatsoever. They even have their own strobe light which they preen into and pose, and don't let the headline band use. Awful. FIRED!
Devilish Presley are a duo comprising guitarist/vocalist Johnny Navarro and bassist/vocalist Jacqui Vixen and a drum machine. The Gothic White Stripes? Well, not really, the interplay between the pair makes them more similar to The Kills... Their sound is a little lightweight, but that is more than made up for by boundless energy levels and catchy, hooky songs. The crowd tonight is pretty sparse, but you can imagine them holding the crowd in a packed club in their home turf of Camden in the palm of their hands...
Special mention has to go to the DJ, who played Mr Clarinet by The Birthday Party. Due to it's disturbing nature, this is possibly the first time this song has been played in public since 1987. Nice work DJ Cavey Nick!
Fincho also reviews the Devilish Presley gig.
