The Schizophonics at Weirdsville, Wednesday August 8th

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Schizophonics are the very embodiment of what raw and visceral Rock ‘n’ Roll should be and seeing them play live is such an exhilarating experience. I’ve seen them twice now and although they are to all intents and purposes a high tempo act that make you smile from ear to ear, their shows are also tinged with a slight hint of danger. There’s an unpredictability bursting out from frontman Pat Beers and his totally committed and volatile performance that takes me right back to being down the front at gigs by Black Flag, Iggy Pop or The Soundtrack of Our Lives. It’s that feeling of butterflies in your stomach as he careers around the stage with no regard to his personal safety or, it would appear, those of us right in the firing line of the front row either! I first saw the band earlier this year at the fantastic Hipsville Weekender where even the huge stage of the cavernous ballroom at Dreamland could not contain Pat and at one point he teetered off the edge in front of me only to bounce back unscathed. It was as though there was a mini-trampoline hidden in the photographer’s pit. I spent a lot of that show with my heart in my mouth. I missed the band at Weirdsville last year so I was intrigued to find out how they would fare on the tiny stage at the Fiddler’s Elbow, however after the gig, when I expressed my earlier concerns to drummer Lety, she casually remarked that that was nothing, they had often played on far smaller. 

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

I managed to get a spot right in front of Pat and I was half expecting to end the evening battered and bruised with splintered shards of his guitar or a microphone stand stuck in my head. As it turned out the mic stand only got knocked into us once, which is testament to Pat’s consummate skill and gymnastic ability as he pirouetted around the stage somehow managing to avoid colliding with the drum kit or injure any of his bandmates or members of the crowd in the process. Often three-piece bands can be a bit limited visually but not so The Schizophonics as Pat Beers combines the very best of all your guitar heroes and frontmen in one package. A lot of the time he doesn’t seem to be playing guitar in the conventional way, I don’t notice much in the way of strumming or picking that’s for sure, it’s more a case of the occasional smash of the strings with fist, palm or even microphone stand. Occasionally, there’s a violent blur of Pete Townshend style windmilling, right hand crashing down on the strings while his fingers on the left hand work the frets to spin out some of the catchiest chords and riffs you’re likely to hear. There is a real groove to The Schizophonics courtesy of super-cool drummer Lety and impressive bassist Blake (from San Diego band Mrs. Henry), they keep it simple to enable Pat to freestyle and do his thing and they inject a real soulful feel into proceedings. So, they have the groove and they have the stunning live performance but most importantly, the band can most definitely back it all up with the sheer quality of their songs such as the superb “Streets of Heaven”, “Venus Transit” and the transcendental groove of “The Train”. 

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

Occasionally, Pat places his guitar on the floor and hunches over it Jimi Hendrix style, fiddling with the effects pedals as Lety and Blake power on relentlessly. Lost in the groove, he leaves the instrument as it is, gets up and struts his stuff as the feedback screams. He does the splits, knee drops, star jumps and spins 360 degrees, pushing the mic stand back and forth so it almost topples into the crowd. He picks up his guitar again and the astounding thing is he also runs through these moves while playing the damn thing too! They include some really promising new songs in the night's set including “Egypt Land Love”, “Something Has Got To Give” and one of the highlights of my night, the excellent “One I Want” which is surely crying out to be released as the next single. They encore with a wild version of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” which sees Pat on the floor in the crowd, a suitability manic end to a mind-blowing gig and another great night at Weirdsville. 

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

As we were leaving the venue, I noticed Pat sitting outside on the edge of the kerb, alone, head in hands, drenched in sweat and thoroughly exhausted. I didn’t want to interrupt his well-deserved break with a barrage of gushing praise so reluctantly decided to head for home. However, I bumped into Lety who was holding Pat’s guitar with its (soon to be labelled ‘iconic’ I’m sure…) shark teeth carved headstock and I asked her if they had any copies of their LP “Land of The Living” for sale. I was disappointed at Hipsville as they’d sold out before I could get one and was hoping to pick up a copy tonight but didn’t see any merchandise stall. Lety said that unfortunately the shipment of albums had been held up at customs but should be delivered some time during the U.K. tour…just my luck! However, there was some good news; she also mentioned that the band will be starting work on their new album soon and if the new songs are anything to go by it is going to be an absolute classic, I'm sure. Check out the band's web-site here for up-to-date news and information.

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

Weirdsville is held on the last Saturday of every month at the Fiddler's Elbow in Camden and they have also started putting on shows in Brighton too. Coming up are some great looking shows including The Courettes with Oh! Gunquit at the end of August and The Voo-Dooms with Les Kitschenette's in September. They have also just announced details of their yearly Hipsville Weekender next May, so please check out their web-site here for more details.

The Schizophonics - photo copyright Retro Man Blog

For more photos of The Schizophonics at Weirdsville please check out the Retro Man Facebook page here and videos are up at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here. Here's a taster...enjoy!