Saturday, April 14, 2007

The Archer Home / Vix n'the Kix / Reverie Strings Wednesday 11th April 2007 Sunflower Lounge Birmingham


This was one of those gigs that I really love. The kind where you don't really know what to expect. You haven't heard the album, listened to the songs on My Space or read about them in NME. Drawn by Vix n'the Kix (fronted by the divine Vix ne Fuzzbox) I was blown away (not literally...I'm not Dorothy...a bit camp maybe but not Dorothy) by openers Reverie Strings. On their My Space page are some of the songs they played. These feature a full band. Live they performed just with the string bit. I'm not sure which I prefer yet 'cos I've not seen the full live band yet, but the string experience was brilliant. Vocally Ian Darby has echoes of Nick Drake, John Martyn and the bloke out of Gomez, but with more roundness (if that makes any sense...but when's that stopped me eh?). The lyrics are evocative and the strings as lush as a punnet of strawberries covered in clotted cream on a hot summers day.Hmmmmmm. I think you can buy their CD through their My Space page and can heartily recommend it. Simply brilliant.

Up next were Vix n'the Kix. I've been a fan of Vix since Fuzzbox's Bostin Steve Austin days, but I loved the whole International Rescue / Pink Sunshine stuff too. Fuzzbox are a band that deserve a load more respect and I've bigged them up on this very site more than once. But that was then, this is now...and I'm pleased to report that Vix n'the Kix are just as bostin. Vix has pulled together a great band (featuring Sophia from the brilliant Toy Hearts, Bexx who has a stunning rockabilly kind of track on her My Space page and Louise who's done some really cool ambient sound collages). You can hear an ickle bit of Bye Bye (surely the first Vix n'the Kix number one record?) on their My Space page. They have the look, the feel and that ingredient X all great bands have...my only concern is that all of them seem to be so busy with their other projects that this band won't get the time it deserves! They're playing the Bar Academy on the 24th May though - it's a must see.

I thought that was it...and so did a lot of the audience but then another band came on - The Archer Home a deathmetal-tastic blast of noise that well and truly RAWWWWKED. It's not a genre that I know loads about so I won't pretend...but it just seemed like the perfect end to a perfect evening. Loads of energy, some wicked fret wanking (answers on a postcard please) and vocals from Satan himself...and you just know he has all the best tunes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i am pleased to see VIX has released a new CD LovePower and Peace with robin george, it can be bought on www.damagecontrolmusic.com and was released october 2008