After last week's noisefest at Super Sonic (and a great deal of therapy...together with a minor bit of brain surgery) this week saw my return to Kamikaze! which can't be far off celebrating its 1st Birthday at the Rainbow now. My, how time flies. But before we start whipping out the cake n'balloons, on with business and first up a solid opening set from The Archives. There's a moddish touch to their music in places, together with that kind of Gallagher swagger from frontman Justin and a little bluesy vibe here and there. Some good guitar playing from Paul last night too. You can check out the pick of their tracks, Rehabilitation (Live) on that there MySpace doodah.
Next up Telegramme...a band I can remember being impressed with a while back (yes, even at my age the memory is still as sharp as a whatsit). It's always good to see a really great, ballsy female fronted rock band and Telegramme are just that. Lead singer, Faye, has a classic blues rock voice, think a less cracked Janis Joplin and you won't be too far off in places. Musically there's a nice touch of punk attitude in there together with the rock n'roll stuff, guitarist, Andew, in particular thrashed around like a man on fire. There's a shed load of their stuff for you to listen to over in MySpace world, I'd start with one of my personal favourites You Won't Make It. Good stuff.
Right, Burnside up next. Despite being a Rainbow regular I don't think I've seen 'em before. Blues rock with a twist...some rather excellent vocal harmonies between the three (count 'em...three...) vocalists. Three vocalists?! That's just being greedy. It works though. Bloody well too. I'd love to see The Birthday Song used by Coca Cola in an advertising campaign...listen to it and you'll see what I mean. It seems as though they've been going for ages (since 2002 at least) so, live, they're as sharp as ninepence. Musical touchstones for me include Gomez, Manfred Mann's Earth Band (but that could just be me...) and Love. Nice mix. They've got a few tracks that you can listen to but, to be honest, they're ten times better live. Can't see any forthcoming dates for 'em but they're well worth keeping an eye open for.
Okay. Last up...drumroll please...VELVET TEXAS CANNONBALL!!!!!!!!! Love, love, love this band. They walk the walk...and dress it too. Yes, I know music shouldn't be all about the image, but hell, let's face facts, it matters. So, they look incredible. Full marks there. But the sound, that's every bit as glorious. If you pressed some of their tunes on old school vinyl, scuffed 'em up a bit and played 'em to musos they'd swear they were some long lost classics from the golden age of rock. Think The Doors, Cream, Hendrix and a dozen other greats all blended up and served with a fresh dash of that magic ingredient...X. Adam Adam is a simply spellbinding drummer. Man and kit in perfect harmony. But, to be honest, every single one of the band is a star in their own right. Ladies and gentleman...this is Birmingham's very own rock supergroup. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Write their name on walls. Make your own T-shirts. Get a tattoo. This is a group that demands mucho attention.
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