Next promoted gig - Dave Sharp

The man needs no introduction, or shouldn't do, but just in case he's the ex Alarm fella who for a number of years now has been touring up and down the country carving a reputation for himself as being the guitarists guitarist and a travellin' blues man that can't be missed.
In support is Homesick Aldo.
Have harmonica and drum will travel.
Plundering the R&B sounds of the sixties, 70's punk and the blues he mixes it all together to give an audience a primal injection of raw music that will leave your head reeling.
Last, but by no means least will be the uber talented Cal Murray.
A man, a guitar and the ghost of Strummer looking over his shoulder.
Click on the pic for a larger image

Tesla - Into the Now

Unfairly lumped in with the the hair metal wave Tesla reaped some initial rewards, but blighted their long term copy book.
Forever more they will be filed away with the sunset strip wannabes of yesteryear.
It's a tragic loss to music fans, because in my humble opinion Tesla are actually one of the best rock bands that are out there.
In fact while people like Jon Bon Jovi still fill stadiums all over the world a band like Tesla could very easily wipe the floor with them night after night.
You name the time and place and the boys will show up and prove me right.
There's something solid about what they do.
The lack of frills allows them to fit nicely under the 'classic rock' banner rather than a sub genre, and while semi acoustic rock in itself is often the unplugged album deal filler for bands of their ilk, Tesla have carved it as their own niche.
So while Into the Now, there most recent release, isn't ever going to be crowned as their must have album it is a fine example of what they do, and do well.
So if you're one of the uninitiated and want to take a little dip in their pool then you wouldn't go far wrong with starting here.

They Might Be Giants - Join Us

I looked up 'quirky' in my pictorial dictionary once and next to the description there was a photograph of a couple of guys who I later found out to be the members of 'They Might Be Giants'.
Since then I have had no reason to ever doubt my well thumbed pictorial dictionary.
They Might be Giants are the kings of quirky.
Lyrically they can jump from singing about dinosaurs to racist friends - aren't they both the same? - in the blink of an eye, and do so while being both erudite and humorous.
I sometimes think that with each album that they release a day will come when they have dragged the last bucketful of ideas out of the well and sell us short, but so far that's not been the case and with 'Join Us' they are back with yet another bucketful of fantastic songs dredged from what may be a magical and ever plentiful well of talent.
With a firm fan base some may think that they are preaching to the already converted, but as long as they continue churning out albums of this quality then I reckon that they will never be short of new fans flocking to the fold all bright eyed and in awe of their newly found favourite band.
The summer of 2011 has just found its soundtrack.
Well my summer of 2011 has.

The Alarm - The Sound and Fury

On first listen to the latest album from Mike Peters and his band of merry musicians I will have to admit to being just slightly underwhelmed.
For an album that is called the sound and the fury I wasn't feeling a punch from it.
Now that a number of days have passed and each of the songs have bedded in I've decided that the reason for that is prior to hearing much of it from the studio my only point of reference for the music was from the live experience.
Put the two together and the studio versions sound like pale imitations of what the songs can sound like.
In the studio the heartfelt 'fury' seems to have been lost, distilled down, and tamed by going through the recording process.
I've said it before, but how do you capture the lightning that can spark from a live performance?
I'm not sure that you actually can, but even when a producer comes close to doing just that I reckon that it's a hit and miss stroke of luck.
This reworking of songs written during Mike Peters long career, while worthy, maybe could have been something that was tinkered with until a bit more energy was caught in the recording.
So while I'm now enjoying this album far more than I initially thought I would, I'm still longing to hear the songs played again with that Sound and Fury that is promised and is delivered each time Mike takes to the stage.

Fixing Mr B

A friend of mine has started a music blog.
His intentions are varied.
Aren't all intentions?
He wants to bring music to the masses, take a trip down memory lane, share his love of bands and artists, but underlying all that usual crap is that he wants to pick up a thread and reel himself back to a position of normality.
Regain some balance in his erratic life.
So it's a personal/music blog.
Not one nor the other, but a random patchwork of musings that will no doubt be brutally honest and may or may not leave his psych healed or lying on the floor capitulating without honour.
He's going to tell an ongoing story and you can be part of that.
If there was a beginning, then this is the middle and the end isn't in sight.
If you want, then jump aboard and have a little perusal of where he's been, where he's at and where he is going at http://fixingmrb.blogspot.com/
I guess that his tale will also tell a story of where this blog comes from to, and anything else that comes from our little corner of the world.

James Grant - CentreStage - 8/7/11 (Kilmarnock)

To an extent Kilmarnock is a musicians graveyard.
It's where the old, and those on a downward slide, go to quietly slip away barely noticed by the general public.
There are obvious exceptions, but take a look at the local newspapers entertainment section - and then exclude the home grown talent and cover bands - and more often than not what you will find is the artists who feature in the 'stars of yesteryear' and 'where are they now' columns of the music magazines.
It's a dire state of affairs, but as mentioned there are exceptions, and every once in a while people do come along and try and breathe some life into the town.
The latest are those behind the Kilmarnock Fair Festival, a week long event that features a few local acts and some well known names who are regulars at the successful Darvel Music festival.
The sort of acts that have a solid fan base, and while they may not be gracing the mainstream magazines can get derrières on seats.
This Friday evening it's the turn of James Grant of Love and Money to entertain us with his original soft folk influenced material and a few acoustic re-workings of material from the glory years of Love and Money.
In all honesty I've lost my way with Love and Money and anything that James Grant has done solo.
The last time I seen him play was in a support slot to U2 on the Joshua Tree tour.
Literally decades have past since then.
Time has however been kind to James Grant.
He still has a strong voice and his musicianship is of a high class and I doubt there are many people who could show him a thing or two on the fretboard.
There's a small problem though.
The spark that should flicker into a flame doesn't splutter into life.
It's difficult to pinpoint a problem, but it might not be one that resides with James Grant himself, and is more so one that lies with the audience.
Bands and artists feed off of adulation.
They want to hear that what they are doing is eliciting a positive response and from that it kick starts a cycle of one-upmanship.
The more an audience gives then the more an audience gets and tonight the audience isn't giving much.
Polite applause is set as a benchmark and few are willing to reach for it.
So from my perspective what happened was that James Grant went on auto pilot.
He played his material and did so to a high standard, but he didn't let loose.
Things did however pick up when Fraser Speirs joined him.
Fraser is the man who most recently has provided his harmonica playing skills to Paulo Nutini, but that is just one star that shines in his crown as he has an international reputation for being one of the best in his field and now I know why.
With his arrival on stage his musicianship acted as a catalyst for James Grant to up his game a bit and the whole feel of the show shifted to one that gave the impression of allowing the audience to be flies on the wall watching two men enjoying playing together, and by ignoring the lacklustre response and focusing on meshing their talents together they provided a saving grace to the evening.
Without Fraser the night would have bounced along on the fair to middling take it or leave it level and for that I will have to be eternally grateful to him.
Up until that point the highlight of the evening had been having a couple of pints with Chris and Mark.
I sincerely hope that the other events arranged had a bit more life to them because if not then the people behind arranging this week of gigs will be wondering if it was really worth the effort.
A common feeling for anyone promoting anything around these here parts.

It's tragic. That's what it is.

It's come to my attention that some pin headed representative of the general public has - dangerously in their case as they may cause themselves a cerebral strain - decided to bounce one brain cell off of another and in doing so come to the conclusion that his appearance in the background of a guerilla video by Tragic O'Hara is so 'out of order' that legal action is required.
Now first off it would seem a bit strange to get your knickers in a twist about appearing in a 'blink and you would miss it' slot in a video from a guy who - let's be honest - isn't riding high in the charts with a high media profile, but there you go.
Out of all the options available to this clown you would have thought that a short email saying 'hey mate I'm in your video and I'd rather not be. Any chance of it being pixelated out?' would have been the first port of call, but no, instead it would seem that he has jerked his knee so hard that he's clocked his chin and is currently suffering from concussion as he has decided that it is far easier to issue a legal threat while remaining anonymous.
It's either that or sadly he has terminal idiocy.
You choose.
'I don't want to be in your video.'
'Who are you?'
'I'd rather not say.'
'Why?'
'Because then you would know who I am.'
'So how do I remove you from the video if I don't know specifically what member of the public you are?'
'I'll have to get back to you on that one.'
In my minds eye I can just see this Neanderthal face gripped in concentration as he becomes increasingly vexed that Tragic, who doesn't know him from Adam, and isn't likely to, isn't removing him from the video, or retracting it from youtube at his behest.
The main issue for this fool is that there is nothing illegal being done.
So if I was Tragic I would just tell him that while I would have been happy to remove him from the footage if he had asked politely and pointed out who he was, that this will no longer be the case as the threat of legal action from a within a cloak of anonymity has just pissed me off.
Oh wait a minute. That's probably too much to break down into an understandable response.
I suppose I would just have to say 'fuck off you twat' instead.
Then again Tragic has his own way of responding. Here it is.

and like the Where's Wally game you can try and spot him in the video here.

You set my world alight. Ignite!!!!!!!!

The blog goes global as of now. Global as in my mate Al from down under managed curb his enthusiasm for public masturbation and set aside his day job of writing homoerotic Star Trek fan fiction to write a review of a show for us all.

FIREBALLS
01.07.2011 @ The Sando, Newtown
02.07.2011 @ The Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle

PSYCHOTIC MUSIC FOR NEUROTIC PEOPLE TOUR

Man....I can go see any number of Rockabilly/Country/Punk or Metal shows in a week here, but the one thing we lack is REAL FUCKING PSYCHOBILLY, and in some cases just REAL MUSIC IN GENERAL!!! Sure we have bands that label themselves as such but, as much as reviews can be subjective, I have fucking ears and make no apologies for saying that some bands just ain't bands....

For more years than I care to remember Fireballs gigs have been less than regular.
Sometime a year or two can pass without seeing these guys stalk the boards so when I hear that they are hitting the road I'm there.
20 years of hard knocks, 4 albums, 5 Eps and 2 side projects (SinShifters + Hotrod Sinners) and now not fucking once, but two nights in a row, I'll get to see them slicing off and serving up some flaming cold cuts from the much anticipated Hellrider album.
An album that at times I wasn't even sure would ever see the light of day, let alone that I'd be able to hear it live.
First things first though motherfucker.
I slid right over to Bee's house and said, let's Go! Go! Go!
At first, she wasn't keen on the drive (50kms p/h in a Suzuki Sierra) up the highway to Hornsby train station.
What the fuck. It's the Fireballs.
Then she wasn't impressed with having to grab two separate trains to Newtown.
I mean what the fuck. It's the Fireballs.
She also wasn't keen on pissed people or getting home the next day at 5 or 6 am, and I thought she was gonna pull out. (ooh kinky)
Jeeeessssuuuuusss. It's the fuckin' Fireballs.
"Come on, once you get there you'll be bloody glad you did and miserable if you don't!"
Finally she stopped all the BS excuses and agreed that she would indeed suffer the journey and she's glad that she did I tell thee.
I was really startin' to rev by this stage.
Inside my head there was a a little kid who'd flushed his meds and was storming about screaming his li'l ADHD head off thinkin' FUCK YEEAAAHHHH! Fireballs! Doin' new material.
Preparation for the show needed to be done though so I fuelled up on the best kebabs in the world from the kebab shop (Kebabs from a kebab shop. Well I never - Mainy) on Enmore road, and washed them down with an excessive amount of alcohol to build up some Scottish courage – it's the same as the Dutch stuff, but you say 'what the fuck are you lookin' at a lot more' and headed off to meet a couple of people who I had been real keen to get a face to face with for a while.
That done, we arrived at Newtown station for 7pm and I headed straight to Hawleywood's Barber Shop to see Dan for a trim who didn't mind me dropping by even though they were closed.
Nice guy. Hellow Dan.
Sat in the chair I was handed a Corona and told repeatedly to keep my head still… And thanks sooo much for putting up with me Dan, you're the real deal!
A while later, I was having a post-trim smoke on the pavement with Dan and co and someone asked what Emo stood for.
Bit of a random question, but it kicked of a nice level of bullshit.
The replies were many "emotional" and "How fucking retarded do you have to be to label yourself "emotional" Then it was asked where did it come from? I said well, bands like Big Black, Minor Threat, Fugazi and Black Flag had been referred to as Emo at one stage or another..and added Fuck it! Next time someone asks if you like Emo say "Sure!" I love Pantera!" And I was off!
I bet they were sorry that the question was asked.
Here's where the night got interesting though.
I arrive at the Sando hotel, tonguin' for a beer or ten and who do I see, Joey Phantom and Dylan Villain sitting out the front having a coffin nail so I stop to chat, say G'day and how fuckin' stoked I am to be seeing them, AND with new material being played that it's a bonus from hell.
We talked briefly about Guitar Slingers, and a couple of other bands..the genesis of Fireballs from Terminal Haircut to Hellrider and said how by some very, very, very narrow folks, but not many, they had been called Metal with a Double bass, and how over the four albums it had been a very natural and traceable progression and even through the faster, and at times heavier minutes, nodding or rather, bangin’ their heads to Metal and Punk, there was the unmistakeable solid skeletal frame of blues, Rock n' Roll and Billy to which Joe replied rhetorically "When you look at it, what's Billy!" To which I nodded and all felt right with the world....And for the record…how many bands, contrarily, have a double bass and wouldn’t know who or what “BILLY” was/is if they tripped over their weed whacker strings….That was when he came........er...not Joey..a man, on a mobility scooter, playing one kick arse, ROCKIN' song, (I asked Dylan if he could pinpoint the song the next night but we were both at a loss to name artist or song)..cruising through the throngs along King Street, drinkin' his beverage, takin' no prisoners and rockin' the fuck out...to which Joe loudly retorts "Hellrider!" after him. It was time for a beer...I bid them adieu and rolled on in.

Well I got inside, bought a jug of beer, poured a schooner and had a look around as I was looking for a couple of friends, found a seat by the door and scanned the pub..Hmm, people getting tattooed everywhere, high haircuts, low haircuts, punks, skins, rockers, metal heads, all having a fucking good time.
Well, I'm talking to this guy and all of a sudden I spot an old friend, Robbo, hadn't seen him in near 10 years, and another one, Al about the same amount of time. Fucking insane, this can't get any better...then not 20 minutes later, Shane and Alex rock in, So nice to meet you finally, we chat for a while, then it's up stairs to a packed room for Fireballs.
I had seen Brigitte Handley earlier and though it was packed and I thought the sound was a little muddy it was still fucking cool. I gave them a little time, but was keener to let the tmosphere sink in and catch up with hombres from the past and didn't feel guilty for doing so as I would be seeing them the next night anyway.
After a smoke, and beer or three later the Fireballs took to the stage and this room was tight. Tighter than that a 200 dollar snatch queen who has just turned the clock back on her garden of delight with the help of a nice nip and tuck from the best plastic surgeon in town.
Yep. That tight. Hardly any room to move forward or back.
I lose everyone except Al & Robbo, but manage to find a decent spot at the back of the room, just as I'm diggin' in all comfy like, they broke into the opener, Turn To Stone off the Terminal Haircut album and it was then that it hit me.
This sounds like it did 20 years ago, and I don't know what it was but they had the energy and force of 4 blokes playing top-notch Psychobilly to a crowd for the first time and knowing it's gonna kick everyone in the head..and make em want more!
Eddie Fury's vocals are spot on the mark and myself, like others I talked to there, thought his vocals were insane....HEAD YELLER SUPREME…. "and age will not weary them")
About this time the obligatory Darwin award nominee who shall from this point forth be referred to as dickhead wandered, or rather, stumbled angrily and blindly past.
Spillin' precious amber liquid and shouldering people in the back he didn't seem to have much of a fuckon clue.
I kept watching in that alert way when you can feel shit about to come down pressing in on the enjoyment.
He pissed off for a short time, but on his return he was still spinning out of control.
Pointless him even being there.
By the third time he passed I though that I should cold cock the fucker, but hey, it's not 1991 and it's certainly not 1981 so I impressed myself with the last vestige of maturity that I was clinging to and just walked out thinkin' I see them tomorrow and I'll listen from the fuckin' door instead...
So I heard most of the rest of set from the door and man, it was too insane to mention.
They play hard, fast, rock n' roll like it hasn't been done in years, the only way they can with such energy and honesty, all the while with a smile on their dials.
The songs they played from the new album Hellrider which included, Voodoo Doll, Hellrider, The King Of One More, Youth Injection, Young Girls, & Blackzone, made me anxious to get the album before they disappeared, scream home on my burning skull and stick it in the cd player...truly an incredible night, leaving anyone and everyone wanting more...
After another chat to Dylan, some signing grabbin' a couple of Dark Shadows 7"s and a copy of Hellrider, saying to Pete Speed when he asked if I wanted the new one signed "I'l get this one signed in another 15 years!" (Pete, I could talked music with you alnight!!! Rock on! It was last beers for me and the trip home, high as a kite on what was surely the knowledge that I would see them tomorrow night and "Beerbilly" would not be within earshot!

"Well, I been awake all night and day, need something to put me away....something that won't make me ill...what I need is my dream piiiiiiiiills!"
I got to the Great Northern Hotel 9:00pm on Saturday night and lo and behold, Joey & Dylan are outside..I say G'day, again and give Joey a copy of Six String Bandit by Guitar Slingers and a copy of Capt Drugbuster 7" then we have a brief chat and head inside.
After a few beers and more cigarettes Brigitte Handley and The Dark Shadows take the stage. They sounded bloody excellent tonight and apart from the odd cigarette, I watched the gig mightily impressed with their sound and presence on stage..can't wait to catch them next time, thanks for two awesome nights girls..

RIGHTO!
hen Eddie introduced King Of One More he said roughly that it came from the knowledge that he could drink anyone in the room under the table!
Sounded like fightin' words to me, although I did only manage 4 beers that night....no one took him up on his "offer" LIGHTWEIGHTS!!!
Fuckin' 2" stage, Fireballs in full force, fine form, incredible sound, easy going crowd, we are away….GO! GO! GO!....like the night before they lurch into Turn To Stone, One could have been forgiven for thinking that they may have been off or slightly askew of the mark tonight, after rippin' it up the night before and coming off tour but no! The twin guitar assault of Pete Speed and Dylan Villain (Which works so well as they feed off each others energy, truly is an experience worth having) with Joey Phantom on gunner's duty (Not all bassist's are this energetic and brutal to watch live) and Eddie Fury captaining the sonic assault (One girl asking "How the fuck does he stand up and drum and sing like that, at the same time!" Hahaha).
This is Fireballs. They came and laid waste to everyone's consciousness that was standing in the room, like a B-1 Bomber laying waste to your city...What can you say?! They came away from that night with new fans for sure!
Fireballs are badder, faster and fuckin' chock full o rockin' beans than most. The fartin' rivers of fire kind...Catch them if you can...for any and all merchandise available, find them on facebook or at:
http://www.fireballsaustralia.com.au/

Thanks to Joe, Ed, Pete and Dylan - You guys Kill! Kill! Kill!
Had the best two nights in a long time...And as I'm writing this listening to Hellrider...AAAAAAHHHHH the cat.....nearly had a heart attack! And to Shane "quiff" Quill who without, I may never have heard them 20 years ago nearly!
Setlist

Turn To Stone
Voodoo Doll
Dream Pills
So Bad It's Good
Depression Manic
Hellrider
Fireball Baby
King Of One More
Scum
Voodoo
Youth Injection
Under My Wing
Big Black Hearse
Young Girls
Bondage
Go! Go! Go!
Fall Of The Damned
Blackzone
Holiday

Photographs by Shane Quill.

Beyonce. A new approach to an old emancipation message.

For the first time someone else has written for the blog. Still keeping it in the family though. This is from my lad Euan.

Beyoncé
Pop rubbish you say?
Pop certainly, but rubbish?
I'm not so sure.
I should begin by saying I'm not a fan, and I don't own one single solitary release by Beyonce, but recently I have come to admire certain aspects of her persona that she is promoting to the public.
It would be fair to say that I've always been aware of who she is as you can't get away from Beyonce the brand, but it was only when I witnessed her recent Glastonbury performance that what she does caught my attention.
The main thing was that her backing band was made up of female musicians, and while you often see solitary women in bands, and the charts are very obviously full of semi clad auto tuned 'babes' gyrating for the cameras, this full band of women just seemed to be naturally empowering.
All shapes, all sizes and all races. Lovely.
A big melting pot of female talent positively promoting their gender to the public on a global stage.
It was fantastic.
I suppose that there could be the reverse sexism charge asking where is the men?
Possibly an argument that the gender exclusive band is sexist in itself, but I would disagree.
I could name a thousand and one bands who are exclusively male and no one lays the allegation of sexism at their feet.
So back to Beyonce and what I perceive her agenda is, and that would be promoting a positive, independent and empowering role model for women.
Yes of course it's within the restraints that mainstream popularity dictates must be adhered to, and while I'm not saying she is about to smash a glass ceiling, I think I can safely say that she up there tapping at it on behalf of women everywhere.
I'll provide some examples of what I mean about her independent and empowering role.
Here on this side we have The Pussycat Dolls being groped by a guest rapper in a video, and demeaning themselves by advocating that to get a man you need to out freak the woman he is currently with.
Or in very basic terms what they are saying is that they will do anything at all to get the man, including let themselves be used as sexual plaything whose existence is defined by their ability to meet the demands of a man regardless of what those demands would be.
….and this is being beamed straight into the heads of young girls globally who are maybe, possibly, being subconsciously groomed for a lifetime of gender subservience.
I haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised if the song was written by men, produced by men and on the business side promoted by a company whose CEO's are all men.
While over here in Beyonce's corner we have a woman who has played the game successfully and is now in a position to dictate what direction that her career should take, and in doing so she pens songs that push women to explore what they want in life and how they can achieve it positively.
While telling the world that if a man likes it, then you shoulda put a ring on it falls on the side of opening the door to young women to think of themselves as worthwhile and that they should be respected by men.
If they want to be with her then make a commitment of some sort.
Is that a positive message?
An empowering one?
Of course it is.
While some would say that it is just another angle being used, a public relations exercise that will convert a few more fans, I don't really care if that is the case.
Similarly I'm not interested in the motives of someone running into the a burning orphanage to save some kids just as long as the end result is that the children live to see another day.
The end result trumps everything else.
So if a woman somewhere uses Beyonce and her message as a springboard to leap forward into actively seeking equality then I applaud that.
We may look about at the world in 2011 and think that everything is fine, but Lennon's words that 'women is the nigger of the world' still rings true, and his use of the dreaded 'n' word in this context doesn't offend me as it would in other circumstances.
It's used crudely like a sledgehammer to get a point across and encompasses the whole issue of equality.
In first world countries we still see women receiving less of an hourly rate of pay as a male counterpart even if it has been legislated against.
We still see women working twice as hard in certain areas only for them to be leapfrogged by less competent men.
For every successful woman I could name a hundred successful men and the truth of the matter is that men and women are working equally as hard, but one certainly has the easier path to walk on.
In classrooms I can see female teachers being offered less respect from a mixed gender class than a male teacher would.
Where's the fairness in that? And where's the sisterhood?
This imbalance seems to be deep rooted and to get back to Beyonce, if in some small way her actions act as a catalyst and encourage women, and men, to reconsider gender roles then I'm not going to knock her, and instead I'm going to praise her.
While we seem to be very far away from a new era of female suffrage as a protest for equality it must come.
It's as sure as night follows day.
Unless of course we all, men and women, accept that equality is a right and not something that has to be bargained for.
Beyonce is the thin end of a positive wedge that could push a door open if we respect the message and don't try and tear it down with a misguided attack on issues that are unimportant.
Like claiming a pop star can't make a differences.
I mean says who?
I applaud a voice that is promoting change without the negativity that is usually associated with trying to create a change in society.
Her songs are the peaceful call for a gender revolution of thought.
I mean c'mon, where would we men be without women anyway?
Nowhere.
That's where.
So lets all get behind Beyonce and her lyrical stance.

Euan Main

13 Tombs kill the socialist dream

The idea of an afternoon of political speeches and rock and roll may not be the sort of entertainment that many people would seek out.
If given the choice of a soapy enema in public, or a ticket to a political rally, then most people would be bending over sans underwear in the high street and telling you to get on with it.
No me though.
Apart from the rock and roll on offer I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, I would find something there that would reignite my passion for political activism that has lain dormant for a couple of decades.
I was fooling myself though.
In the twenty years since I hung up my activists hat, and instead chose to rant from the comfort of my armchair, all that has changed is the faces.
The rhetoric is the same, and the veneer of giving a toss is just as thin as it ever was.
During the introductory speech, and prior to the first real speaker taking the microphone, I was hurled headlong into the past, and the reasons for turning my back on front-line activism all came rushing back.
Those who lean to the left couldn't organize a fuckin' raffle and by and large they're a bunch of cunts.
Sorry.
I didn't mean to call them that.
Useless self serving cunts is more accurate.
They're normally far too busy participating in a narcissistic orgy of communal ego masturbation to get much done at all.
If back slapping was an international sport then we would have some real world beaters lining up to pick up the gold.
While the majority of the people in attendance have got a hair up their arse about the governments attack on the public sectors pensions I doubt they would cross the road to piss on a gay asylum seeker who has just been set alight by a racist twat.
It seem to me rather obvious that similar to the authors who come out of the woodwork to bemoan the closure of libraries, and the actors who step up on the soapbox to protest about theatre funding being cut, the public sector workers have a narrow view of what is worth fighting for and the smell of personal interests is all pervasive.
The proof of their lack of a communal spirit moving them is shown when they all, with a few exceptions, piss off as 13 Tombs take to the stage to entertain them.
While the band are making their introduction, and before they have even struck a note, the venue clears.
Fair enough if they had waited to hear the band in full flow and decided it wasn't their thing, but to exit stage left before giving them a listen smacks of a liberal dose of arrogance and ignorance.
When someone, anyone, is invited along to entertain people for free, then at the very least a polite lending of an ear to them would be considered the right thing to do.
Anything else is akin to a slap in the face.
Not that this slap in the face floored the band, because like real stormtroopers they just fired into a set that in an alternative venue, with another crowd in attendance, they would have reaped an ecstatic response.
Deathrock, punk rock, goth punk, call it what you will, it's all rock and roll to me.
As a duo they have the power of a full band. The guitars work is as fiery as I like it and the vocals roll along like a train about to jump the tracks.
If this is the sound of the garage then it's one that's attached to the home of The Munsters.
That these guys are mainly confined to doing gigs on the east coast is a great loss to us on the west coast.
I think we need them to come through every once in a while and shake things up a bit.
In fact I will be whispering in peoples ears to see if I can make this happen.
That at one point there was only three people watching them.
A random guy that wanted to pay to see them and my girlfriend and me.
Yet that has no bearing on just how good this band is.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing them again, but hopefully that will be with people of like minded tastes that will have a more respectful attitude to those who would entertain us, rather than the those right on fanny's who were conspicuous by their absence.
Solidarnosc my arse.