Band:
Robin Black & The Intergalactic Rock Stars Venue:
Maximes, Wigan, UK Date:
22 June 2003
We'd travelled for 3 1/2 hours to reach the gig tonight … and we had work
the next morning …
A friend had
told us a few weeks earlier that he'd seen Robin Black & The Intergalactic
Rock Stars supporting some band he'd been to see and he thought they were
brilliant. Not only that but he said the drummer was the most gorgeous
creature he'd ever seen.
Well we'd heard the CD and thought that was pretty special, so after this
glowing report we thought to hell with it, so what if we're knackered the
whole of the following day.
Robin Black & TIRS were sandwiched in between
an up and coming band called Pride, and eighties hair band Danger Danger.
The crowd here tonight was largely an AOR orientated, over 30's crowd
who'd come to see Danger Danger and relive the days when they had sported
mullets and pants so tight they to cut off the circulation.
However in every pack there will be rebels and tonight it wasn't just the
gaggle of wee lasses in tiara's, purple wigs and feather boa's who were
here specifically to see these gods of glitter put us through our steps.
No sooner had the roadie flashed the sound tech chap than a large crowd of
people seemed to rush forward from nowhere like a herd of wild buffalo and
take up their positions at the safety rail.
If you've never seen Robin Black & TIRS then all I can say is they have
the dress sense of total glamour pusses, full of sparkle and glitter. The
most amazing multi-coloured heads of hair all beautifully washed and
fluffed within an inch of their life. Combined with the kind of razor
sharp cheekbones most women would kill for.
But these lads
weren't all looks and no substance. Oh no! Exploding into a glitter bomb
of sparkling life the songs sounded as exciting as the band looked.
They
manage to combine the addictive sing-along chorus's of Bubble, with
wickedly delicious guitar riffs a-la Backyard Babies, and the beautiful
people dress sense of Rachel Stamp. If these 3 bands appeal to you in any
way then believe me Robin Black & TIRS are going to blow your mind away.
The band had hardly broke into the second song of the set and they already
had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands. Indeed Robin
'fucking' Black really does have that superstar quality in that he knows
how to work the audience and isn't afraid to make full use of both the
stage and his physical features. It's something a lot of lead singers seem
to have a problem with these days but not this chap.
It was just before the band launched into the third song of the set when
Robin told us that only the night before they had been asked why they were
touring with Danger Danger when they weren't an AOR band. To this he'd
replied that in Canada there is no such thing as Glam Rock or AOR, there's
just good rock and bad rock. He said we had to knock down those barriers
of trying to fit bands into different types of rock and just learn to
appreciate that if a band plays good rock then that's all that counts.
This was why they were touring now with Danger Danger, because both bands
play good rock music. He was right of course and who were we to argue
after that?
The band blazed
on throughout the rest of their performance and blew away a lot of the
punters with their explosive full on rock n' roll attitude.
It started the
second they hit the stage and didn't end until they left some 40 minutes
later. Marvellous! So much attitude, so much style and glamour, so much
loud in your face rock n' roll! It was fantastic to watch and very
addictive in that once seen, never forgotten sense. I couldn't help but
wonder how on earth they managed to keep the pace so fast and hard under
those red hot stage lights which had us all melting away.
While watching them perform 'T.V. Trash' I couldn't help but be reminded
of the glory days of Poison or Hanoi Rocks. This band aren't so much
riding on the glory days of the eighties as much as putting the fun back
into rock.
Towards to end of the set they performed their new single, the old Sweet
classic 'Hellraiser'. Wow, if ever a band were made to cover this song
then Robin Black & TIRS are it. I've never heard a song brought so much to
life by another band. In fact it sounded so much better than the original
it was criminal.
They
are indeed the beautiful people and they do indeed rock hard and fast. If
the band were a car they'd be a classic Cherry Red Corvette. I can't wait
to see them perform live again. Watch out for this band because they
definitely give you your moneys worth and then some. The albums pretty
cool too!
Setlist Included:
1. Screwed It Up
2. Suburban Sci-Fi
3. Time travel Tonite
4. Disco Dust
5. More effeminate than You
6. Candy Flip
7. I wanna be High
8. T.V. Trash
9. Some of you Boys … and most of you Girls
10. Hellraiser (Sweet cover)
11. So sick of You
A friend had
told us a few weeks earlier that he'd seen Robin Black & The Intergalactic
Rock Stars supporting some band he'd been to see and he thought they were
brilliant. Not only that but he said the drummer was the most gorgeous
creature he'd ever seen.
But these lads
weren't all looks and no substance. Oh no! Exploding into a glitter bomb
of sparkling life the songs sounded as exciting as the band looked. 
The band blazed
on throughout the rest of their performance and blew away a lot of the
punters with their explosive full on rock n' roll attitude. 
