The Killer B's + Sid Sings + Horse Face: Live at The Half Moon Putney, London May 09th

Chris Thompson of Killer B's and Horse Face - Photo by Steve Worrall

This was a real treat for me as I have been a huge Screaming Blue Messiahs fan ever since their raw full-on rock and rhythm and blues rescued me from that terrible, bleak musical wasteland of the late 80's early 90's. The Messiahs and The Godfathers were just two of the very few bands at the time getting out there and burning it up for us lovers of primal guitar music, so I will always be grateful! Tonight, I got the chance to see two thirds of the Screaming Blue Messiahs play together live again for the first time in many years. Original Messiahs rhythm section, bassist Chris Thompson and drummer Kenny Harris have reunited under the name Horse Face, with Chris taking over on guitar and vocals. Although usually augmented by a double-bass player, tonight they played as a two-piece and blasted out some impressive blues. It was particularly great to hear Kenny's superb drumming again. You can check out some Horse Face songs at their Soundcloud page.

Chris Thompson and Kenny Harris of Horse Face - by Steve Worrall

Kenny Harris of Horse Face - by Steve Worrall

Sid Sings were a revelation live. I'd been blown away by their track "Caught In Black" and went out and snapped up their great full length debut album "Notes From Underground" and the mini-album "Make Me Howl" and was really keen to see them. Playing tonight as a three piece with the excellent drummer Dan Peranic (excellent drummers being a recurring theme throughout the evening actually...), Sid Sings didn't disappoint, hitting their stride immediately with the storming "Death Rattle Boogie", the band were on fire from the off. Singer Nikki Brooks and guitarist Sandy Michie are a live-wire duo up front and although at first it's easy to see the glamorous Nikki as the main focal point, she is after all quite stunning, they are very much a double act.

Sid Sings - Photo by Steve Worrall

Sandy throws himself and his guitar around the stage. Bending and contorting his body as he does the guitar strings, he's really channelling the music into the performance and it's great to watch. Nikki clutches her mic stand, swaying along to the beat and swirling her hair as she delivers her superb vocals. She has a great distinctive voice and the way she switches to sultry French for the verses of "Caught In Black" is really something special. They only play a couple of tracks from "Notes From The Underground" tonight, but they do plough through all of the near faultless "Make Me Howl". Sid Sings also slip in a great mash-up cover version of The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" and Dusty Springfield's "Anyone Who Had a Heart", it's very clever and works really well. Their brand of Blues has a nice bit of power and a Garage Rock rawness to it and I thoroughly enjoyed the set. Nikki has her own radio show "House Rent Boogie" on Resonance 104.4FM and a great Blog to go along with it. She recently did a show with Rob Symmons from The Fallen Leaves which is definitely well worth a listen.

Nikki from Sid Sings - Photo Steve Worrall

Sid Sings - Photo by Steve Worrall

A quick change of hat and Chris Thompson takes to the stage for the second time tonight with his main band The Killer B's, who proceeded to play a storming selection of their own special brand of kicking killer Blues. I wasn't familiar with a fair chunk of the set, which featured only a few songs from their excellent Pat Collier produced Track Records released debut album "Love Is a Cadillac Death Is a Ford". Chris is joined in the Killer B's by another top drummer, Dave Morgan and yes, there is a bassist in the house, the dapper Ricky McGuire, once of The Men They Couldn't Hang. The Killer B's are not your average Rhythm & Blues band, they are certainly pretty far removed from straight forward R&B boogie, there is a darker undercurrent with an edge that elevates the band to another level. Sometimes it's in the dark humour of "Low Watt Light" and other times it's the occasionally unsettling and challenging chord changes and tangents that they spring on you. Captain Beefheart and Zappa are probably as much an influence as the more traditional Blues names. "Head Hive & The Honey" is a slow burning classic with some amazing slide guitar work from Chris. The band end a great show with "You Bug Me" and a really excellent night of music draws to a close. The Killer B's have a great web-site with some cool graphics that's well worth checking out here.

The Killer B's - All Photos above by Steve Worrall

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Here's a little bonus - a video of Sid Sings taken from the Retro Man Blog "YouTube Channel:

Introducing: Sid Sings - a Deliciously Dark and Dirty Blues Explosion...

Making their first appearance on the Blog, I'd like to welcome Sid Sings, a great band who I've only just discovered through singer Nikki Brook's radio show, where she recently had The Fallen Leaves in as special guests. I got hold of their excellent album "Notes From Underground" and equally good E.P. "Make Me Howl", which both came thoroughly recommended, and I've been hooked. The E.P. features one of hell of a stand-out track in "Caught In Black", where Nikki sings the verses in French before it explodes into a chorus to die for. It's one of my tunes of 2013 so far and a must to add to the playlist for our next episode of Retrosonic Podcast. Anyway, I got in touch with the band to find out a bit more...

Sid Sings are "a deliciously dark and dirty Blues-explosion for the True Blood generation"...
One vocal, one guitar and pounding drums is all Sid Sings need to create their raw Alternative Blues sound that has lead critics to describe them as "...a female Robert Plant fronting The Black Keys". Known for their full-on live show, they have headlined many London venues including The Blues Kitchen, The Barfly and The Borderline and have also shared the stage with The Jim Jones Revue, Hugo Race and The Fatalists, Mama Roisin, Yat Kha, Nine Below Zero, Eli Paperboy Reed, Johnnie Bassett and Ten Years After. They have even supported Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler as From The Jam at The Forum in Kentish Town. 

They have also appeared at various Festivals including Guilfest, Gold Coast Ocean festival, Nozstock, Avant Garde Blues Festival in Italy and Cognac Blues Passions Festival in France where they were named band of the day and stars of the "Nu–Blues". The local press described their performance as "mind blowing".

The title track from Sid Sings' E.P. "Make Me Howl", was recently named "Best on the Net" by Tom Robinson on his BBC Radio 6 show. The band comprise vocalist Nikki Brooks and guitarist Sandy Michie as the core duo, but are sometimes joined by drummer Dan in larger venues. They have recently come back from  France supporting "Ten Years After" and played for the first time in Paris at a great little venue called La Feline.

“With the help of sultry Nikki the band is going from strength to strength, bringing together their own sound punctuated by Nikki’s teasing and sexy voice and interpretation. Not only are they talented musicians but they are also great songwriters as demonstrated by the twelve songs they wrote for this album, taking inspiration from the likes of Robert Johnson, Seasick Steve, White Stripes and The Sex Pistols. Here you have a hotter Blues Rock, adding spice to the current delights in the Blues Kitchen" - Blues Matters Magazine

"Dead good and dead sexy" - Unpeeled Magazine

"Mixing PJ Harvey's archness with Debbie Harry's sultry caress. Shining a bright light into the typical murk of swamp blues and revealing its cross-over potential into mainstream pop"

- Whisperin'an'Hollerin' website.

Here's a great video for "Death Rattle Boogie" from the album "Notes From Underground".

Nikki also hosts her own Alternative Blues radio show on Resonance 104.4fm called "House Rent Boogie". She was asked to do her own show after Sid Sings were guests on Resonance a couple of years back. Nikki gets Bands to do a live set and then asks them to bring in songs from their childhood that inspired and influenced them. Her playlist can range from someone traditional like Mud Morganfield, but then branch out into Garage Rock, hence her recent session with Retro Man Blog favourites, The Fallen Leaves. Nikki also has her own "House Rent Boogie" Blog to go along with the show, so please check it out for news and reports and photos from the sessions.

Sid Sings will support the great Killer B's at The Half Moon in Putney on Thursday May 09th, and I hope to get down to the show to do a review. Check out the band's official Sid Sings web-site for further news, gig dates and where to buy the album "Notes From Undergound" and the "Make Me Howl" E.P.