Mon dieu...it's been ages since I last 444'd but I'm glad to report that all is still well chez Rainbow (like the French stuff...non? Oh well, tough merde). Anyway, without any further ado, onto le musique pop, or le musique de Cramps in the case of openers Funhouse Robots. Mixing a little rockabilly with a hefty dose of blues punk and a sprinkling of glam they've got a fine bundle of tunes, the pick of which, Sensation Space Station merges glorious 50's bass lines with 70's punk attitude...grrrrrrrrrr (that's me being all rock n'roll by the way). You can here it, and one other track at their Myspace thingy. Oh, top marks for the cover of the Sid Vicious version of My Way, by the way. Loved the hat. Nice touch.
Next up the lower key, slower burning Dogfight Revolution. I was sat right next to the speaker so I caught the full Velvet Underground tinged sonic assault. They've got that great 'chung chung' late 60's psych guitar sound going on together with drawn out, spacey vocals that ignite at the chorus. Oh yes. It's the sort of stuff you want to listen to on slightly crackly vinyl, late at night, with some 'erb. It seems they have a 'drone machine' too. What is a 'drone machine?' Answers on Syd Barretts bike to the usual address...
Talking of 'erb, next up Mr Derry. Nope I don't get the link either but it's all so much more convenient if things link up n'est ce pas? I've seen Mr D quite a few times now and they were every bit as blues rockin' as before. There's a nice touch of The Kills about the band, in other words straight up, adrenaline fuelled rock and mother humpin' roll. They played a couple of slower numbers tonight which showcased Joni's voice in a different way that I rather liked. Sure, she can do the belters but that voice can handle the mellower stuff just as well. I even got to open her beer bottle midway through the set. Glad to be of service. Reviewer and opener of bottles...that should look good on a business card.
Last up Guile. I could be really lazy here and just refer you to their Myspace thingy, upon which resides a review from my good self. Jolly impressive it is too, 'an awesome psych soundtrack to the greatest road movie never made' indeed. I'd stand by that comment though. Great slabs of psych noise, stoner rock god vocals and choruses that build up to a crescendo before fracturing into a million splinters of sound (hey, 'splinters of sound' that's nearly as good as the 'psych soundtrack' bit...I should do this for a living). Love Around Here remains, for me, the pinnacle of their work so far and, generous souls that they no doubt are, they've put it on their Myspace page for you to listen to. Turn it up loud and wake the dead. Speaking of dead, the lighting for Guile was pretty cool tonight. What with all the dry ice and stuff it made them look like shadowy figures from the 'other side' (as you can see from the picture). Cool.
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