The Priscillas - Live at the Buffalo Bar London August 17th

Jen & Suza of The Priscillas - Photo by Steve Worrall

Considering I've liked The Priscillas for some time now, for various reasons of bad luck and timing, I only got round to seeing them live for the very first time last month. That was as support to Rat Scabies, Brian James & Texas Terri at the Retro Venue, which you can read about here. Then, as the old cliche goes, you wait for ages for a Priscillas gig to arrive and then two come along...yeah yeah. So, last Friday I got the chance to finally see the band headline at The Buffalo Bar, next to Highbury and Islington station. The Buffalo Bar was a great little basement venue, a nice dimly lit atmosphere with a pretty decent, well mixed sound system. The Priscillas kicked off with "Rip Up Your Photograph" and then treated us to a faultless set of their infectious bubble-gum Punk Rock & Roll. They are a band who immediately make you smile and sing along, with their catchy backing vocal harmonies and choruses.

Jen of The Priscillas - Photo by Steve Worrall

I think vocalist Jen is a fantastic presence up front, maybe it's because a lot of bands I see recently seem to have three-piece line-ups, it just makes a noticeable and refreshing change to see a singer freed from not having to play an instrument and to have the opportunity, and the charisma, to "work the stage"! Although Jen, and guitarist Guri, are often to be found off the stage amongst the audience at various times of the set. They are a tight rocking unit, and again bassist Suza and drummer Stu provide the solid foundation for guitarist Guri and Jen throughout. Unfortunately, Stu is leaving the band and the band are looking to replace him with a female drummer so they can revert to their all-girl line-up. They play a couple of songs I hadn't heard before, one of which was called "Where's Lydia?" which was a fun call-and-response number. The more familiar songs still sound great, "All Of My Friends Are Zombies" and "Holloway" are top notch garage-pop nuggets, but it's "Superhero" that sums it all up for me, a brilliant track, one of those perfectly formed singles that deserves to have been a huge hit.

(L/R) Guri, Jen, Stu and Suza - Photo by Steve Worrall

So, another great gig from the band and I hope another one comes rolling along pretty soon. In fact the only negative of the evening (apart from them not having any merchandise!) was the rather sparse crowd. Those that were there had a fantastic time, but I am sometimes a bit non-plussed at the lack of support for live music, especially for such a fantastic live act such as The Priscillas. So, please do yourself a favour and get out to support hard-working bands such as The Priscillas, The Past Tense, The Jetsonics, The Len Price 3, to name a few. It's not easy for bands to get venues and promoters on side these days, especially without big record company backing, and most bands are managing themselves too. So if you think you can help get The Priscillas a gig please get in touch, maybe you're a Promoter, own a venue or run a Club night, if you are in a band or even if you can just recommend a good local venue, then it all helps. Often the only rewards for bands these days are just the chance to sell some CDs and T-Shirts but, I think the most import reward is a great reaction from a happy crowd that has had a thoroughly entertaining and fun evening, just as we all did at the Buffalo Bar last Friday!

All Photos Copyright Steve Worrall Retro Man Blog 2012

Here's a video I shot of the opening number, the superb "Rip Up Your Photograph". You can see more exclusive videos of The Priscillas, and many more, at the Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel.

             

And finally, don't forget their excellent album "10,000 Volts", which is available to order now from iTunes, Amazon and of course, the band's own Store on their official web-site.