Thursday 17 November 2016

The Satelliters, The Razerbills and The Ladybugs at Weirdsville Mexican Day of The Dead Halloween Party

The Razerbills at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Well, yet another superb night courtesy of Weirdsville and testament to why I wanted to pay my own little 'tribute' to their fantastic set up at our next Retro Man Blog Night at the Half Moon Putney on November 18th with The Masonics, The Baron Four and The Beatpack. Mr A and Alex just keep on putting together stunning line-ups of international Garage Rock, Surf, Psych and Weirdo acts from the far flung corners of the globe at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden on the last Saturday of every month. At the regular Weirdsville club nights and their yearly version - the Hipsville Weekender festival - I have seen acts, mostly for the first ever time, from places as diverse as France, Brazil, Switzerland, Japan, Italy and more. Tonight was a great example of their eclectic and multi-cultural pick 'n' mix that always seems to blend together perfectly as we had bands from Japan, Germany...and Bradford! This was a Halloween special with a Mexican Day of The Dead fancy-dress twist and as usual loads of people really went for it and some of the outfits were stunning and pretty damn scary too! I must admit as I went to the venue straight from the football, I didn't have chance to dress up and I felt a little bit out of place - although the comments about me winning the scariest Halloween mask of the night have been noted...!

Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
The Ladybugs at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
So, starting off tonight were The Ladybugs, a three-piece all girl Punk Rock band from Japan featuring Ai on bass, Miyuki on Guitar and Junko on the drums and lead vocals. They charmed the crowd with their huge smiles, police outfits and tuneful Punk Rock. Of course it's easy to draw comparisons with their fellow Osaka residents Shonen Knife but then they don't have a monopoly on catchy buzzing guitar pop tunes with singalong choruses do they? Well the choruses would be singalong if the lyrics weren't in Japanese I suppose but we gave it a try nevertheless! With songs like "A Pint of Bitter" and "A Cup of Tea in Baker Street" - you can sense the girls were happy to be in London and they proved their musical influence was also somewhat Anglophile with a cracking version of the Buzzcocks "I Don't Mind" too.

The Ladybugs at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
The Ladybugs at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Their last song "Hello, I Love You" was a great way to end their short, sharp and sweet set, they are a great band and lovely people too and we will definitely keep a check on what they get up to in the future. To get up to date news and order their CD's and 7" vinyl releases please check out their official Facebook page here. Guest DJ's Mole & Lois from State Records, The Embrooks, Galileo 7 and The Baron Four (not sure how they have enough hours in the day...!) played a great selection of 7" vinyl before, between and after the bands and their choices went down a storm with the crowd.

The Razerbills at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Next up were The Razerbills from Bradford who took the stage decked out in capes, mysterious masks and black fez's and then proceeded to send shivers up and down our spines with spooky organ driven instrumentals, dropping in special effects and clips from Sci-Fi and Horror movie soundtracks along the way. They put on a great show and their take on the Joe Meek sound mixed in with a pinch of Garage Rock and Horror & Sci-Fi theme music really went down well on the night.

The Razerbills at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
It was a mostly instrumental set but they did throw in a great version of The Legends late-60's Fenton Records garage stomper "I'll Come Again" which really hit the spot. I think the band have a bit in common with Speedball Jnr, The Sine Waves and Graham Day's recent side-project The Senior Service but at the moment they don't have any records out unfortunately but hopefully that will change soon so keep a check on their news at their Facebook page here.

The Satelliters at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Headliners The Satelliters from Germany are just one of those bands that have 'it'. They have the look and the stage presence and they certainly got the beat but most importantly they have the songs! And what superb catchy songs they are too, with their own compositions such as "Lost In Time" and "Outta Here" quite rightly holding their own among those more well known 60's Garage & Psych classics that must have influenced them along the way.

The Satelliters at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
The band remind me of The Music Machine and Shadows of Knight with their spindly intricate guitar riffs which lead you on a merry dance and stick in your head for days after. Lead vocalist Steve is kept busy all night, juggling the organ, harmonica, maracas and tambourine - unfortunately not all at the same time - and this all adds to their ultimately danceable rhythm. A truly great live act and I would really recommend seeing them as soon as you get chance. The band's latest album "More of The Satelliters is well worth getting hold of too. For more info check out their web-site here.

The Satelliters at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Weirdsville is held on the last Saturday of every month at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden/Chalk Farm, for more information on their upcoming shows please check out their facebook page here. The yearly festival version Hipsville-A-Go-Go has now been confirmed for 2017 in Margate on the bank holiday weekend April 28th, 29th and 30th. For more info and announcements on the bands who will be appearing please check out the great Hipsville web-site here. Our next Retro Man Blog Night at the Half Moon Putney on November 18th is a kind of 'tribute' to Weirdsville. It's the launch party for The Masonics brand new album and features special guests Miss Ludella Black, The Baron Four and The Beatpack, who will also be celebrating the launch of their new E.P. on State Records, so we hope to see you there! Book in advance to save money from the ticket link here.

The Satelliters at Weirdsville - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog 2016
Here's some videos of the three bands, there are more up at the Retro Man Blog You Tube channel.






For more photos of the night please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook page.