Artist:  Rattlesnake Remedy, Rebels Of The Flesh & Massacre On Broadway

Venue: The Arc, Stockton ON Tees  

Date:  1 February 2007 

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. 

 

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