|
With the year still very much in it's
infancy, it's time once again for the boys of Rattlesnake Remedy to hit
the road and continue the quest to get their infectious brummie rock n'
roll circus to the masses ... but first the guest slots.
First up on the bill are the Darlington
based quintet Rebels of the Flesh who unleashed their punk fetish fuelled
rock n' roll on an unsuspecting all ages crowd and promptly set about
warping the young male minds of Teeside.
Adorned in various rubber and PVC outfits
this band set out to prove they are much more than just a band with an
image, they also have a kick-ass attitude to go with it. Fronted by
the very capable vocals of Chaz, she led her band of rubber clad maidens
who consist of Steph and Cloe on guitars, Mel on bass and thrashing out
the back beat Dee Dee on drums. These girls
were certainly out to take a few prisoners tonight.
|
As we entered the venue from the
downstairs bar (as drinks aren’t allowed in the main hall when it's an all
ages gig), the band had already hit the stage and were ripping into their
raucous set with ‘Let's Go For A Riot’. Straight away it was obvious
that they have captured the hearts and loins of the young male patrons in
the crowd. Then they continued into the frenzied ‘I’m So Primitive’,
with Chaz using the mike stand like a lap dancers pole, much the crowds
delight. Mind you I thought they would have to bring out some
lifeguards as I thought the first few rows would drown in their own drool. |
|
This very impressive set continued with
such hard hitting tracks like ‘Plastic Sunday’ and the excellent ‘Girl
Grind’, a track that saw Chaz once again bump and grind with the mike
stand.
Next it was time for the girls to really
get things going with the guitar fuelled ‘Whips And Chains’, a track that
Chaz dedicated to the audience member Lucy whose birthday was tonight.
Although I suspect it was the male section of the crowd who thought all
their birthdays had come at once tonight!
The set continued with the impressive
‘Last of the Rebel Teen’ before Chaz called out for a volunteer from the
audience to join her on stage, and believe me their were plenty of hands
raised, but one lucky lad joined the band on stage and was given a gimp
cat mask to put on and instructed to go down on all fours for the duration
of the next song ‘Queen of Pleasure’, much to his friends delight.
The band finished off the set with the heavier ‘Love And Affection’, which
rounded off a very impressive set from the band and one that made me want
to investigate them more, purely for professional reasons that is.
Next up were another Teeside band
‘Massacre on Broadway’, who I must admit got the crowd into an instant mosh pit from
the off with their hardcore metal tones. Sadly this was somewhat lost me
because they had just been moshing to Cotton Eye Joe just minutes before
the band came on stage, so this behaviour meant nothing as they seemed
pretty oblivious to the
actual band and would probably have moshed to anything at that moment in the night.
I’m must admit to not really being a big fan of the whole
hardcore sound (or lack of it in this case). I only managed to catch the
first two songs from the band before I had to retire to the bar as there
was a pint of lager with my name on it calling out to me.
After a short refreshment break it was
back to the main hall to see Lee Stone and the boys shine once more.
Similar to last
year the band have started the year as they mean to go on, with a tight
well worked set taken from the bands debut 'Magic Man'.
|
|
Things got underway with ‘Black Shape
Fiddle’ with Stone his usual animated self and the rest of the band on top
form once again. The set continued with ‘Nothing Rides’ before it was time
for the track that got it all going for them, their first single ‘Drag Me
Down’. Ah and that also got the Arc mosh pit rabidly going again.
Next it was time to bring on
the blues as Stone put harmonica to mouth and introduced ‘Hangover Blues’,
or should I say Lambrini blues for all the youngsters who had had a sly noggin
before the doors opened tonight (you know who you are!).
|
Things kept going with the usual slick
pace of every Rattlesnake gig I’ve seen (and it's coming up to double
figures now!), as the band continue with their road song ‘Killing Time’.
Then
it was back to the blues for ‘Paying My Dues’ before ripping things up with
the excellent ‘Reach For The Line’.
They finished off in emphatic style with
the title track of the album ‘Magic Man’, which marked the end of another
polished set from a band who give 110% every show. Let's hope 2007 will
get the band some more high profile slots so that at least they can take a
break and start working on some new material for the next album.
|
