Baby Shakes, Duncan Reid & The Big Heads, Smalltown Tigers at the Pump It Up Power Pop Weekender, The Lexington July 3rd 2022

One of the joys of live music is that you never know what special moment you could be there to witness. Tonight at the climax of the Pump It Up Power Pop Weekender at a packed out Lexington, that special moment was to see Damian O’Neill and Billy Doherty from The Undertones take the stage with New York’s finest Power Pop Punks, Baby Shakes to deliver an ecstatic run through of “Teenage Kicks”. It was a sheer delight, both Billy and Damian looked as youthful as they did performing the classic on Top of The Pops back in the day, they have hardly changed and I am extremely jealous! I’m not sure who was the happier, Damian and Billy both grinning ear-to-ear and lapping up the affection, Baby Shakes who looked chuffed to bits to be sharing the stage with two of their musical heroes or us in the crowd, singing along at the top of our lungs. Of course, there is history between Baby Shakes and The Undertones as you can discover in our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast with Mary, Claudia and Judy, where they not only talk us through the band’s history and influences, but also explain how they got to know The Undertones. This mutual appreciation culminated in the superb Dimple Discs Records 7” single on which the band covered “Sweet 'n' Sour”, the suitably Glamtastic song from Damian’s solo album “Refit Revise Reprise” along with Billy’s Undertones B-Side “Really Really”. It was our single of the year and quite rightly so. 

It was the first time to meet Baby Shakes in person since our comprehensive interview for Retrosonic Podcast, which I had enjoyed immensely. The band’s glowing enthusiasm and love of music totally won me over as we discussed their influences including some unlikely mutual favourites such as The Gymslips, Chron-Gen and the Incredible Kidda Band. I was even more delighted to finally get to see the band play as circumstances always conspired against me on their previous visits to the U.K. They certainly didn’t disappoint, as their perfectly-crafted good time Rock ‘n’ Roll songs lit a fuse among the adoring crowd. Right from the start of the brilliant opener “Do What You Want” the energy zapped around the room and there were smiles all around me. None more so than from the band themselves as the chemistry between vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mary, bassist Claudia, lead guitarist Judy and drummer Ryan was a joy to see. It’s always nice to see a band enjoy playing as much as we enjoy watching them. Just like The Undertones, Baby Shakes also have a summer anthem of their own, the high voltage “Summer Sun”, which is received with a huge cheer. The great songs keep on coming, my personal favourite “Cause A Scene” starts off with a Sweet-style drum intro before changing gear into a Glam-tinged tale of life on the road. 

As we covered in our Podcast, Baby Shakes also have a conscientious side as is apparent in their benefit shows and the good-cause supporting record releases and they hint at the unrest in their home country with a blistering version of MC5’s “American Ruse”. They hit us with another great cover version, Claudia plays a superb bass intro that evolves into an instrumental take on Radio Birdman’s “Hand of Law”. It really works, sounding almost like a Spy movie theme tune, a great and unexpected treat. “Another Place” and “Cruisin’” crank up the good vibes even more and next to me, Sophie from The Big Heads can hardly control herself, hollering at the top of her voice and dancing with Duncan Reid and Mauro from The Speedways. Then after a brilliant “Love Song In Reverse”, Mary introduces Damian and Billy for “Teenage Kicks” and Sophie can’t resist leaping on stage in her excitement to add backing vocals. It’s fantastic to be able to get that cathartic thrill from live music again after all the trials and tribulations of two and a half years of the pandemic. “Stuck On Blue” closes a quite exceptional set that I really didn’t want to end. I just hope that Baby Shakes come back for a full U.K. tour very soon, although in the meantime they are now off to the Continent for shows in France, Spain, Italy and Germany – those lucky Europeans! 

Baby Shakes set was the culmination of the Pump It Up Power Pop Weekender run by the Some Weird Sin club night gang that includes Mauro of The Speedways and Simon from Desperate Journalist, both former bandmates in Jonny Cola & The A-Grades. They invite a pick of International Power Pop bands which over this weekend included The Yum-Yums, Alvilda, Radio Days and Caroline and The Treats. Unfortunately, the Saturday night clashed with The Gruesomes first ever U.K. show so I only made it along on the Sunday evening in time to catch a brilliant set by Smalltown Tigers. The Italian all-girl trio took the stage dressed in black and white asymmetrical 60’s style outfits and I was expecting a lighter Mod Pop sound. However, appearances can certainly be deceptive. 

I should have noticed their big Dr Martens boots as they kicked my preconceptions into touch with a sound that was far more powerful and raw than I was expecting. It certainly shook the Lexington to the rafters. The band played a superb set of pumped-up Punk Rock ‘n’ Roll featuring songs off their current 8-song mini album “Five Things” of which the ominous Cramps style riffing of “Darling Please” was a personal highlight. Monty’s crushingly powerful chords and the excellent pounding drums from Serena are topped off by bassist and lead vocalist Valli, who has an awesome voice. Valli has a wonderfully raw growl that reminds of Kim Shattuck of The Muffs, apt then that the band are called Smalltown Tigers. There are shades of L7 and the Runaways in the band’s sound but they stand out on their own with the melodic attack of songs like “Just Friends” and the album title track “Five Things”. Oh, and they end with a blistering thrash through the Ramones/Motorhead classic "R.A.M.O.N.E.S." I bought a copy of the album on vinyl at the show and saw Damian O’Neill also clutching a copy as he had his photo taken with the clearly awestruck band. The good news is that I will get to see them again as they are supporting the original Damned line-up at the Hammersmith Apollo in October, I'm looking forward to that very much.

Duncan Reid and The Big Heads were next up and the purple clad former bassist with The Boys was a perfect choice to follow Smalltown Tigers and warm us up nicely for Baby Shakes. The melodic immediately memorable tunes and Duncan, the human dynamo himself, bouncing all around the stage left us all breathless, not just from singing along but with the sheer energy of it all. Duncan has assembled a superb band around him and he allows them to shine, each one a character in their own right. Guitarists Sophie K Powers and Nick Hughes on either side and behind them the excellent drummer Karen Jones who slams around the drum kit with impressive power. Duncan and his three Big Heads have a great chemistry between them and the all-action dynamics of their performance are mightily impressive, they must be one of the best live acts around. My highlights included the superb “Bombs Away” and “C’est La Vie” and of course they end a brilliant set with probably one of Power Pop’s most enduring anthems, The Boys “First Time”. I need a sit down after all that!

 

Please click on the highlighted links throughout the feature to discover more information along the way. Our Retrosonic Podcast specials with Baby Shakes, Damian O'Neill and Duncan Reid are still available at our archives - you can subscribe for free at Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. Videos of all three bands on the night can be found at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here. All photos and videos copyright Retro Man Blog. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Baby Shakes

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 7 with Damian O'Neill of The Undertones

Retrosonic Podcast · Lockdown Lowdown Episode 5: Duncan Reid of The Boys & The Big Heads

Thee Moot "Mood Swings and Roundabouts" - A track-by-track guide to an album packed full of harmony, rhapsody and melody

Every now and then an album appears out of the blue that hits you right between the eyes. I have to say that the third LP from Thee Moot "Mood Swings And Roundabouts" is one of those perfect albums where all the vital factors are ticked off. From the no-filler sequencing and dynamics of the 12 songs in 40 minutes track-listing to Steven Lambo's excellent cover art to the stunning production by the band and Ed Deegan at Gizzard studios. All four band members are at the top of their game, the lyrics and songwriting, the superb playing, it's all there. In fact, what Thee Moot have on their hands is a timeless masterpiece that transcends genres and musical eras effortlessly. It touches on all your favourite records without once sounding cliched or obvious. The band were formed out of the ashes of one of the best covers bands around, The Transients. Bassist Mark Leech, Drummer Philip 'Freezer' Pinch and Guitarist Dave 'DC' Clark recruited Mark's former bandmate in 80's Psych-Popsters The Onlookers, Singer and Songwriter Nick Stone to concentrate on original material and boy, did they make a good choice. The first thing I remember after seeing Thee Moot play live was that I could remember every one of the songs they played straight after the show, how many bands do you see where you can't even remember one bloody tune? The choruses were stuck in my head for days after. In fact, it was almost as though I'd seen The Transients play a set of my favourite songs as tracks like "Backs Me Down", "Don't Push Me" and "Tabloid View of The World" were instantly as familiar. This is testament to the band's songwriting skills and the fact that their lean, stripped back sound and DC's icy, memorable riffs allow the melodies to bury themselves into your eardrums. 

Thee Moot are not an easy band to categorise and to ditch any notion of cover versions and get out there armed with a set of all original material, skirting genres and musical rules and regulations, is a brave move. If you are looking for reference points, I guess you could start with The Onlookers who ploughed a similar furrow back in the 80's with their tuneful Psych. They also remind me on occasion of the much-missed Playn Jayn with their immediately memorable tunes and Dave Clark brings a touch of Post-Punk and Lower East Side NYC 70's Punk with his inventive riffing. Of course, clues can also be found in the eclectic set-lists of The Transients as they played songs by a diverse range of Bands and Artists from Billy Childish to The Gun Club, from Television to The Saints to The Small Faces. From The Nerves and The Modern Lovers to The Flys - always avoiding the obvious. But I reckon Thee Moot are mostly deeply rooted in the catchy British Mod-Psych-Pop of The Afex "She's Got The Time", Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, Fire's "Father's Name Is Dad", The Creation, The Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society" and The Sorrows "Take a Heart". Two more wonderful covers The Transients played that could have paved the way for Thee Moot were Wimple Winch's "Save My Soul" and Rupert's People "Dream on My Mind", hopefully this might narrow things down a bit!

So, as I have had the album on repeat for days now, let's take a track-by-track look at "Mood Swings And Roundabouts". Firstly, according to the sleeve notes the brilliant title is "a celebration of the joys of lockdown and of the rollercoaster of life pre and post pandemic". It's Nick's essentially personal reflections that will, however strike a chord with all of us who endured the past two and half years of COVID-related hell. Thee Moot have captured the very essence of all the ups and downs, highs and lows, anxieties, and the occasional bright points, of the world during lockdown. The opening track "Alone By Myself" sets the scene perfectly with it's crunching guitar intro that leads into an insanely catchy song with some great drumming by Freezer Pinch. It faces up to the insecurities of going out and mixing socially again after periods of isolation "I build a little bunker at the foot of my bed, covers over my head" and "forgive me, I get the jitters when I socialise". The follow up "Armageddon", despite the uptempo, catchy nature of the music itself, seems to despair at what we are doing to our planet as the opening line attests "Beam me up Scotty, I've had enough". The song buzzes about cheerfully despite Nick's concerns that "the future is ominous, maybe space is a better place for the human race?" But true to the album's title, the mood swings with "Live To Fight Another Day" which reminds me of Blur around the time of their "Modern Life Is Rubbish" album. That was when they seemed to discover the joys of Julian Cope and they had songs like "Pressure on Julian" and "Coping", hmmm do I detect a slight nod to their influence in those two titles I wonder? Maybe the Blur reference isn't so strange as DC's playing sometimes reminds me of Graham Coxon, who I've always thought was an underrated guitarist, and Nick seems to channel his inner Anthony Newley here. It's a great song with some effective stabbing keyboards adding a nice touch. Oh, see if you can spot the accidental sound effect.

"What You Got To Shout About?" is a rollicking call to arms, a two-minute-two-fingers up to all those bullies of the meek and mild mannered and I like the line "Button it and hear me out, shut your mouth!" as the song slams shut. The melancholy "Gentle Devil" hints at the mental health issues faced by many people during the pandemic, "I'm gentle but I live with the Devil" Nick sings, "Misanthropic and bad mannered, I'm on the slip and slide inside myself". These intense lyrics are all complemented by some quite beautiful guitar work that adds a real gravitas to the song. "Looking Down Upon Myself" is another reflective track which has hints of Bowie and starts off with a sublime ringing guitar riff by DC and bubbling bass-lines from Mark. Two unashamedly upbeat and nostalgic songs follow, firstly "Penelope Coincidentally" which rattles along at a fair pace underpinned by some excellent bass. "No. 73 was a thing on TV back in the 80's" Nick reminisces, indeed it was and The Onlookers made an appearance on this rather naff Saturday morning kids TV show, it's there on YouTube if you don't believe me. To their credit, they do manage to keep their cool and deliver great versions of "You & I" and "Chieftain" despite Dennis Waterman, Hazel O'Connor and dancing children cavorting around them. If that wasn't bad enough, at one point bassist Mark Leech is submerged in a bath of yellow custard. Who says that we didn't have entertainment back in the day?! "Go! Harmony, rhapsody, melody" they sing, and quite right too! In fact, I think that would make a perfect slogan for a Moot T-shirt. Then next up is "Go Pele Go" which has a nice Stonesy swagger and Nick sharing his boyhood memories of the Mexico '70 World Cup, of dazzling colour TV and the equally dazzling gold and green of Brazil. There's a jealous comparison with the jumpers-for-goalposts, mud-soaked footie on a cold and wet day in In-ger-land while in Brazil they played on exotic sun-kissed beaches. As someone of a certain age, I can still remember the pain of heading one of those rain-soaked laced-up leather cannonballs, so this song really hit home with me! 

What follows is a four song sequence that really elevates "Mood Swings and Roundabouts" to another level. I always thought that you can tell a great album when it builds to a crescendo with a final run of killer songs rather than meander to a disappointing end. So the next track "Blisters" really throws off the shackles with a huge in-your-face guitar riff intro from DC. In their early recordings I sometimes felt that Thee Moot were holding back a bit, sometimes a bit restrained even and it wasn't until the fuzzed up and aptly titled "Let Your Hair Down" on their last album "Peel It To Reveal It" where they really started to kick-off. But there's certainly no holding back with "Blisters" as it cranks up the energy levels into overdrive, topped off with an insanely catchy chorus. The lyrics seem to tackle this confidence issue with self-deprecating humour, "So what if we haven't got the faces to mention, not so photogenic and we're hard to remember" ponders Nick, but enough is enough, now they're going for it. They want us to know they mean it and feel it and they are now going to fight for attention. Any struggling band without major backing or record label support will be able to empathise with "Blisters" as Nick nails those all too familiar hardships and doubts that must play on many musician's minds at one point or another with a stinging line, "Why play anyway when nobody hears ya?" It's a harsh reality. But this is followed by the positive rallying cry "Someone's gotta bang a drum for live music mister, we hit so hard we're covered in blisters". Believe me, you'll find yourself cheering at this point! "Marigold" is a sublime piece of British Psychedelia that suddenly hits you with a crunching chord change and chorus and there's some nice underlying organ adding texture. Dave Clark's guitar work again shines and Nick's voice is on top form, this is up there as one of Thee Moot's greatest recorded moments. 

But then again, next up is "Tonic For The Soul" which may well be the highpoint of the album for me. Just when you think you're at the chorus another killer section slaps you around the head and the organ along with the "Let's Spend The Night Together" style backing vocals pile on the melodic overload. The ringing guitar riff highlights the uplifting message that music cures, puts a "sparkle in my eyes, reactivates my mind". It's an absolute belter of a song that's crying out to be released on 7" vinyl, it would make a classic single. In the superb closing track "Dressing Gown" Nick sings "Yeah, far from the madding crowd, I am still wearing my dressing gown" brilliantly capturing those initially positive effects of the lockdown. The blue skies of that amazing weather when we thought we'd have a nice time off work for a bit and it would all be over in a month or so. Ah, I remember those days clearly, the long walks, the clean air and for me, living under a major flight path and near a motorway I certainly felt the difference profoundly. No cars or planes, the carbon omissions dropped and the only noise pollution was that of the birds singing. You could appreciate nature as Spring bloomed all around. Yeah right, little did we know of the devastating couple of years ahead. "Dressing Gown" tackles the issue of climate change so well and Nick hopes that "Earth will rebuild itself if we redeem ourselves". It's true, that first couple of weeks of Lockdown were like a window into an alternative reality of what life could be like if only we respected the environment so much more. Musically, "Dressing Gown" is a fantastic tour-de-force and a perfect way to close the album as it slowly builds to a crescendo with some stunning Richard Lloyd/Tom Verlaine guitar work from DC. Not to be outdone, Mark suddenly goes all JJ Burnel on us and his bass wigs out as the multi-layered guitars wash over the ending of a quite brilliant record. If former Shack and Pale Fountains frontman Mick Head hadn't just released his own masterpiece "Dear Scott" with the Red Elastic Band, then "Mood Swings And Roundabouts" would be dead cert for album of the year already and we're only just into July. Harmony, Rhapsody, Melody!

Thee Moot will be playing at the High Tide Festival in Twickenham on Sunday July 17th (organised by the excellent Eel Pie Records store) and then at the Acoustic Couch in Bracknell on Thursday July 21st. The album will be getting an exclusive play on Alan May's "Glory Boy" Radio Show on Sunday July 10th too. For more information on Thee Moot and how to order "Mood Swings And Roundabouts" please check out their official Facebook page here. All live photos copyright Retro Man Blog.

Retrosonic Podcast with The Gruesomes, Canada's Legendary Tyrants of Teen Trash

For this very special episode of Retrosonic Podcast we caught up with all four members of the legendary Canadian Garage Rock band The Gruesomes as they rehearsed for their upcoming debut London show at Weirdsville on July 2nd, hard to believe this will be the first time the band have ever played the U.K. since forming in Montreal back in 1985. In this comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining show, singers and guitarists Bobby Beaton and Gerry Alvarez, bassist John Davis and drummer John Knoll take us on a wild ride from their formation in 1985 to their split in 1990 and right up to their resurrection and classic comeback album "Cave-In!" in 2000. Along the way we discuss their debut E.P. "Jack The Ripper" and how it became a favourite of The Horrors, along with their first album, the impeccably titled "Tyrants of Teen Trash". We play tracks from each of their albums and their latest single alongside a pick of various influences and favourite songs from The Haunted, The Chords, Kit & The Outlaws, The Prisoners and The Sorrows. We also cover Canadian culture and music including the Montreal scene that spawned The Gruesomes. There's life threatening road accidents, Buddy Ascott's drumming, touring Europe for the first time, why Spain loved The Gruesomes and the band's love of lemon curd! All this and lots, lots more in this teen-trash packed episode of Retrosonic Podcast. You can subscribe to Retrosonic for free at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or direct from SoundCloud below:

Retrosonic Podcast · The Gruesomes

The Gruesomes play their first and only UK show at Weirdsville at the Fiddler's Elbow in Chalk Farm on Saturday July 2nd with support from Retro Man Blog favourites The Jack Cades and DJ's Keb Darge, Mr A and Miss A. Psychotronic visuals will be provided by Dave Taylor at Enjoy Yourself. Tickets are available from We Got Tickets here. Don't miss out! For more information on The Gruesomes please check out their official Facebook page here. With sincere thanks to The Gruesomes - Bobby, John, Gerry & John and especially to Grant Fisher.

 

Tracklisting

The Gruesomes "Bikers From Hell"

The Haunted "1-2-5"

The Prisoners "Hurricane"

The Chords "Maybe Tomorrow"

The Gruesomes "Leave My Kitten Alone"

Kit & The Outlaws "Don't Tread On Me"

The Gruesomes "Jack The Ripper"

The Gruesomes "What's Your Problem"

The Gruesomes "Je Cherche"

The Gruesomes "Way Down Below"

The Gruesomes "Hey!"

The Gruesomes "Stop It, Girl"

The Sorrows "No, No, No, No"

The Gruesomes "Make Up Your Mind"

The Gruesomes "Someone Told a Lie"

The Courettes at The Louisiana, Bristol, June 1st 2022

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

The Courettes, probably the hardest working couple in show business, are back again. It doesn’t seem like five minutes since I was down the front of a packed out Lexington in London witnessing another mind-blowing performance from Martin & Flava Couri, the Danish husband/Brazilian wife duo. However, here I am again down the front of another packed out Courettes show, this time at The Louisiana in the fabulous city of Bristol. It’s a music city and there are members of bands and DJ’s all around me. I see Mimi & The Miseries, Ananda and Glauco from AlterModerns and Craig & Alex from the Frathouse among other familiar faces from many Hipsville and Weirdsville events; it’s a very friendly and welcoming crowd to us out of towners. The Courettes seem to be on one never-ending tour, Bristol is the first date of an 18 shows in 18 nights jaunt around England and Scotland following hot on the heels of a phone book length list of dates in Europe and Scandinavia. “We hate days off”, Flavia told me in our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special, which ironically, had to be recorded on two separate occasions as they were so busy. 

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

It was great to catch up with Flavia and Martin again, after all they are two of the nicest and most positive people you could wish to meet. Of course, they look fabulous too. When we meet for breakfast in a café the next morning, they both appear looking as if they are going to step on stage and they draw admiring, awestruck glances from people tucking into their pastries and cappuccinos around us. Tour van driver, cheerleader and general fixer Patrice Picard of Raw Fun and The Cannibals is also present and he shows off his leather jacket emblazoned with The Courettes logo. Both Martin and Flavia have similar jackets and they presented one to Fabrice as a gift at the start of the tour but underneath his logo Martin had added ‘Cannibal’. A nice touch, and as I help them with their luggage and gear I wonder when I will qualify to wear a leather Courettes jacket? I’m not sure that I would look a fraction as cool though!

 

The Courettes and Patrice at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

So why are they back so soon? Well, they’ve only gone and released another album haven’t they – the stunning collection “Back In Mono: B-Sides and Outtakes”. Most bands stick these kind of records out unheralded, often due to contractual obligations but not The Courettes, no chance, they go and build yet another tour around the release. You thought their wall of sound masterpiece “Back In Mono” was great. Well, yes so did we, as it was Retro Man Blog’s Album of The Year 2021. In fact, it was so great that they had to leave off eight superb songs all now handily collected in yet another beautifully packaged Damaged Goods Records release. There are not many bands I can think of who can release an album of B-Sides and unreleased material of such quality. Swedish Psych-Rockers, The Soundtrack of Our Lives spring to mind and their immense “A Present From The Past” which was far superior even to the record company rush-job “Best of” compilation “Golden Greats Part 1”. After that, I’m struggling. So yes, “Back In Mono: B-Sides and Outtakes” does deserve its own tour. 

 

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

Back to The Louisiana, Martin and Flavia take the stage, unfortunately, the lights don’t seem to be working and it’s apparent after the high-octane opening double hit of “Hoodoo Hop” and “The Boy I Love” that the air-conditioning isn’t working either. It’s like a sauna and they’ve only played two songs. The temperature rises even higher as the hits keep coming, “I’ve Been Walking” and the classic ode to Richard Starkey “R.I.N.G.O” are fantastic. Around me, people are dancing and fanning themselves with T-Shirts at the same time. Patrice asks me if I want a beer from backstage but all I can think about is water. Sweat is dripping off the walls and someone shouts out to the be-suited Martin “take your jacket off!” He declines, always the cool dude. Martin is a superb drummer and the perfect foil for Flavia who leaps into the crowd and revels in the adoration. She encourages the girls to get to come forward and comments that more bands and venues should encourage a safe space at the front. More great tracks crank up the pressure cooker atmosphere such as “Edge of My Nerves” and then the ultimate fuck-it-let’s-dance nihilistic statement “We’re Gonna Die”, which is very apt as I think I am going to die, only from heat exhaustion, not from excessive partying. 

The Courettes at The Louisiana Bristol by Retro Man Blog

The band deliver a faultless set-list crammed full of their classic Phil Spector meets The Cramps meets The Shangri-La’s meets the Ramones nuggets. “Boom Dynamite” and “T-C-H-A-U” are perfect call and response crowd participation party pieces and they end with a blistering “Hop The Twig”, Flavia giving her guitar to a member of the audience to have a bash on. It’s a beautifully chaotic ending to another quite magnificent Courettes show and I would urge you to check the remaining tour dates and get out and see them if you can. Chances are though; if you miss them this time round, I’m damn sure they will be back very soon. Let’s bloody hope so. Check out the official Courettes website here for tour dates, further information and merchandise. “Back In Mono: B-Sides and Outtakes” can be ordered from Damaged Goods Records here. More videos from the show can be found at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here. Finally, don’t forget our special “Retrosonic Podcast presents the Fabulous Courettes” episode, which is available at our archives on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iTunes and SoundCloud or directly below:

Retrosonic Podcast · Presenting the fabulous Courettes

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London Kings Cross, May 26th 2022

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

At the end of my review of The Limiñanas at the 100 Club back in February 2019 I wrote “I have a feeling that the band will be selling out a much larger venue next time they come to play in London”. So, here we are at the Scala in Kings Cross, the band are finally back again and yes, it is much larger than the 100 Club but it’s still completely packed to the rafters. I also wrote “the most exciting thing of all is that musically The Limiñanas have not set themselves any boundaries, they can evolve in any way they choose. So as a fan, it will be fascinating to continue following them on the journey that lies ahead”. Well, it’s been some journey, that’s for sure. At that 100 Club show they included two new numbers in the set “Dreams” and “The Last Picture Show” and these pointed the way to a busy, creative time for the band. Those two songs ended up as part of a superb new project called L'Épée which included Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the French actress Emmanuelle Seigner. I was lucky enough to see them play in London at the end of 2019, it was another mind-blowing performance and the year belonged to The Limiñanas and L'Épée.

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Then of course came the unexpected two-year horror of the COVID pandemic but it certainly didn’t stop the creative output of Lionel and Marie as they immersed themselves in movie and TV music culminating in the brilliant score for “The World We Knew" along with “The Devil Inside Me” and “The Ballad of Linda L.” collaborations with David Menke. Then with their latest album “De Pelicula”, they have collaborated with the DJ and Producer Laurent Garnier to produce a hypnotic Electro-Techno-Fuzzed-up monster of a record. Moving away from the 60’s Garage Rock and Ye-Ye influences somewhat, this is a thoroughly modern sounding masterpiece that perfectly melds together Dance and Rock cultures. Live, the new songs work extremely well as is immediately apparent with the brilliant opening two song salvo of the single “Saul” and “Je Rentrais Par Le Bois”. To help capture this new direction, the band have recruited Edi Pistolas, the Chilean musician from the Dark Wave/Post-Punk bands Panico and Nova Materia to add his electronic sounds, percussion and half-sung half-rap vocals to the mix. He’s also a compelling and charismatic performer and he ups the visual impact to the max when he takes centre stage. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

We then get treated to a superb set encompassing the new album, old favourites such as “Down Underground” and classic singles like “Dimanche”, “Istanbul Is Sleepy” and “The Gift”. There’s the superb cover of Can’s “Mother Sky” which they have kind of adopted as their own and they even cover Lionel’s old band Beach Bitches “Crank”, a surefire Garage Punk classic that almost blows the roof off the Scala. Talking of which, the sound at the Scala is pretty good from down at the front but the lighting less so. There seems to be a shadow from a monitor or speaker obscuring Marie’s face for most of the set and there’s an extremely low stage for such a size of venue. This means that you’ve got to work hard for good views of all the action, and of course, it’s The Limiñanas so there is certainly plenty of action. I haven’t seen such a compelling and visually exciting live band since The Soundtrack of Our Lives split up in 2012 – well, possibly Oh!Gunquit would qualify – but in terms of sheer overwhelming, jaw-dropping spectacle then The Limiñanas are right up there. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Just like The Soundtrack of Our Lives, each member is integral not only to the band’s sound, but also their look and each member brings their own character and personality to the party. Whether, its Lionel hunched over, wringing mind-blowing fuzzed up riffs from his guitar, all wild hair and impressive beard or Marie’s joyful and original drumming – hammering her snare and floor-tom, red hair flailing and glowing in the lights. There’s no cymbals, no high-hat, just a tribal hypnotic and relentless beat. Bassist Mikey Malaga has a unique style with his low-slung black Fender Precision, it's every bit the iconic bass look – he swings and sways with his bass, totally hypnotic. Renaud Picard sings most of the lead vocal parts and adds layers of haunting backing vocals and acoustic guitar. Then, I suppose most great visual bands have to have a quiet member, it’s usually the bassist - The Who’s John Entwistle, the Stones’ Bill Wyman and TSOOL's Kalle Gustafsson spring to mind – just to keep everything balanced and in check. I guess this role falls to Alban Barate who although half-hidden at the back, adds some superb guitar work and keyboards and certainly shouldn’t be overlooked in his contribution to the sound. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

To top it all, I think every great band needs to have an eccentric and enigmatic member and this position is filled by Ivan Telefunken who has become something of a cult hero with fans. He’s totally out there and unique, completely lost in the music, he throws his guitar around wildly before pushing it against his amp to illicit screams of feedback and white noise which he skillfully manipulates to add so much texture and atmosphere to The Limiñanas sound. He also adds keyboards, which are decorated in eye-catching, multi-coloured polka dots. Ivan is to The Limiñanas what Eno was to Roxy Music, Blixa was to the Bad Seeds and Johnny Greenwood was to Radiohead - he fills the role of musical alchemist absolutely perfectly. He also takes over lead vocals on a raucous version of The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” which closes the set and goes down a storm, especially with long-time Limiñanas fan Damian O’Neill, who is in the crowd tonight. 

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

Damian O'Neill of The Undertones with Marie & Lionel Limiñana at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

To digress, it was a pleasure to introduce them after the show and be reminded that even your favourite musicians can still be big music fans after all and the mutual appreciation was heart-warming to see. The band return for an encore and this time it's Marie taking on lead vocals for a pulsing version of Suicide’s “Cheree” which morphs into a transcendental mash-up of “Je M’en Vais” and “The Train Creep A-Loopin’”, absolutely stunning! The outpouring of appreciation and affection at the end of the show was quite emotional, the band seemed genuinely as happy as us fans did as they stood there together accepting the acclaim. Well, I said it before but I’ll say it again, I think next time they visit they are going to need a much bigger venue!

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

The Limiñanas at The Scala, London - Photo by Retro Man Blog

For more information on The Limiñanas, please visit their official web-site here. You can check out our feature on the 100 Club show in the Retro Man Blog archive here and the L'Épée show at EartH in Hackney here. Don't forget the special Retrosonic Podcast Episode 37 entitled "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us" in which I take a look at the band's history including some of their previous and related bands such as Beach Bitches, Les Bellas, Crank and Hair & The Iotas along with a pick of some of their many and varied cover versions. The episode is still available at our archive if you subscribe for free to Retrosonic Podcast at Soundcloud or Spotify, Amazon Music, iTunes and Apple Podcasts. You can also listen or download below. You will also find some of our original videos of The Limiñanas and L'Épée if you subscribe to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here. 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 37 "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us"

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club London 7th May 2022 - Report & Photographs by Paul Slattery

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

For me going to see the The Flamin' Groovies is a kind of pilgrimage. I first heard "Teenage Head" at a party in the USA in 1972 and just six years later was taking photographs of them on their UK tour of 1978. I'd collected pretty well all their records by then and had become a huge fan so for me going on the road with them was like some kind of dream for a young photographer and Cyril Jordan and the rest of the band were really good to me. Their encouragement pretty well set me up as a rock photographer and I'm eternally grateful for that opportunity. It was now fifty years since I first heard a Groovies record and 44 years since I first met Cyril but due to various circumstances and of course Covid, I hadn't seen the reformed Groovies and Cyril in five years. Since they reformed I'd seen them in London in 2013, done a mini tour with them in France in 2015, and the last time had been in London in 2017. All these gigs can be found here in the Retro Man Blog archive, plus there's a fab Retrosonic Podcast with Chris Wilson here.

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

I walked into the dressing room at the 100 Club to see Cyril picking away at his iconic Dan Armstrong Plexiglass guitar which looks and sounds so fantastic but does weigh a ton. He's looking pretty good for a 74 year old and I'm only a couple of years behind so here's to old men in rock and roll! Cyril's been using this guitar for more than fifty years now. There we were chatting backstage when who walks in but Sid Griffin from the Long Ryders and Coalporters with a beard like a mountain man. The Long Ryders too are one of my fave bands and you can read all about them and see my photos in the blog archive here. Since the Groovies reformed in 2013 original member George Alexander had quit in 2017 and now Chris Wilson is on "hiatus" so Cyril is now the only original band member left. Chris was such an integral part of the band co-writing with Cyril nearly all of the bands greatest songs, and his guitar duels with Cyril are legendary. So I was wondering what was going to happen with the vocals as Chris was the lead voice of the Groovies for such a long time, but I shouldn't have worried. Chris Von Sneidern who is a legend in his own right has switched from bass to guitar and is a great singer. Tony Sales whose dad also Tony played bass with Iggy Pop and David Bowie has music running through his veins - he does a really spot-on job on the drums AND vocals from behind the kit.  

Chris Von Sneidern, The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

 

Tony Sales, The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

Atom Ellis plays right funky bass lines stalking the stage like AC/DC's Angus Young! "Way Over My Head" kicks off the night with great guitars from Cyril and Chris, then "You Tore Me Down" and "First Plane Home" really get the crowd rocking. A relatively old crowd but a lot of young faces too, young Sem and her friend who are both just in their 20's have come all the way from Zurich to see the gig. Cyril comes on with a posh red jacket which he discards after the first three songs - the place is already getting hot and you've got to be fit in the 100 Club's tropical atmosphere! After being a lifetime smoker Cyril's trying not to inhale these days on the way to packing up the ciggies completely. If he can do it I'll be impressed! I really can't tell you what it's like standing feet away from probably one of your favourite bands of all time listening to great songs like "Slow Death" and "Between The Lines". Cyril and Chris get the jangling guitars riffing away on "I Can't Hide" and I'm in Rock and Roll heaven! "Married Woman" is a belter, as is Chuck Berry's "Around and Around" and the crowd go crazy for "Teenage Head" and of course "Shake Some Action". 

 

Atom Ellis, The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

I've always loved the Groovies' "Married Woman" which I first heard on a United Artists EP called "Flamin' Groovies" in 1976. Dave Edmunds produced it at Rockfield in 1972, going on later to produce the legendary "Shake Some Action" album in 1976 when the band were at their absolute Zenith blowing away the Ramones at The Roundhouse. There's a great review of the gig by Max Bell on the Roundhouse site here. Let's not forget the other Dave Edmunds produced album 1978's "Flamin' Groovies Now". It was on my visit to Rockfield Studios on New Year's Day in 1978 that I first met the Groovies so that album is pretty special for me. Atom gets a really funky bass riff going and the band launches into "Way Down Under", a superbly riffy number, followed by David Crosby's "Ladyfriend" and finished off with the title track of the band's '79 album "Jumpin' In The Night". With a sixteen song set-list of greatest hits, the appreciative crowd do not go home disappointed and for me it's a memorable and extremely emotional night. Rock and Roll at its best. I hope I don't have to wait another five years to see Cyril and the band again. I walk up the back stairs of the 100 Club and say my goodbyes to the band as the van is loaded for the next gig in Holland. Such is Rock and Roll!

Cyril Jordan, The Flamin' Groovies at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

Cyril Jordan and Sid Griffin at The 100 Club - Copyright Paul Slattery

For more info on The Flamin' Groovies please check out their web-site here. Finally, big thanks to Barry Simons, take care and see you soon. - Paul Slattery May 2022.

Groovies, Roundhouse June 1978. L-R Cyril Jordan, David Wright, George Alexander, Mike Wilhelm, Chris Wilson. Copyright Paul Slattery