Killer Klowns/Sneekers @ the Green Square
Thursday, March 8
Bluebirds/Sneekers/Hush Honey @ the Excelsior
Sunday, March 18With High Society withdrawing from gigging while they record their album, I can't help wondering whether Sneekers might be moving in to fill the vacuum created by the absence of the band that seemed to be everywhere.
I first saw these guys back in November, at what turned out to be their first gig. At the time I thought that they were a reasonable power pop band with a good repertoire, if a trifle shaky at the start and needing a little more power to bolster their pop. At both of these recent gigs, it sounds like they thought so too and they've been working on it. Their labours have not been in vain. They've still got those good, clear harmonies, but now there's added oomph in the guitar department (hope I'm not getting too technical for anyone).
This band would slot perfectly into the opening spot on my ideal ultra-meaty power pop bill with Challenger 7 and The Upsets.
The Green Square gig was the better of the two nights, a much tighter performance, but the Excelsior gig was not to be sniffed at, even if they did seem to have lost the plot briefly at a couple of points in their performance. Unfortunately the preceding band had ended late and some of the Sneekers were in a bit of disarray, so they took more than their allotted 20 minutes for the change over, which then left them severely squeezed for time and off balance when the soundman made it clear that Bluebirds were definitely still going to be starting at their allotted hour.
The group before them, which had ended late, was Hush Honey. Since I was running late myself (so what's new?) I don't know whether they went on late and if so why or whether they just couldn't stay within their agreed time and if so, why not. What I do know is that when I arrived they were playing something "jazzy" (or at least a facsimile of the sort of soft jazz often enjoyed by people who don't really like jazz). Fortunately this was just a brief divergence (I'm resisting the temptation to use the word "aberration" here) from the rest of what I heard them play, which consisted of some interesting though restrained riffage, with the two guitarists seemingly overly reticent to take lead breaks (which were therefore rare and brief, but tasteful on those few occasions when they did lash out).
But that was Sunday and now I've gotten ahead of myself! Thursday's show was meant to be headlined by Knucklehead, who had become unavailable in circumstances which still are not clear to me, leaving plenty of time for both Sneekers and the Killer Klowns to play full sets (and making the Killer Klowns the de facto headliners). I didn't find out until I got there and with the Killer Klowns' guitarist on the door I could hardly just turn around go home again (only jokin' Darren!).
Over the last couple of years, the Killer Klowns have gone through almost as many changes as a drag queen working a double shift up the Cross on a Saturday night, with guitarist Darren Trew now the only remaining member from the line up that recorded the "All Mine" EP, but this latest line up is starting to settle down well since their first outing back in January (supporting the Hunchbacks and Mother Jones in one of many Green Square shows for which I meant to scratch out a review, but never got around to - indolence winning out over industry every time).
The new drummer (although the previous drummer was hardly there long enough to qualify as "the old drummer") has slotted in well, providing a solid foundation that wasn't always there when it was needed before. Tonight they were really throwing themselves into their performance, with new singer Paul O'Niell in particular all over the stage (and often off it), while the instrumentalists served up an impressive selection of covers and originals (though I have to confess that I think Challenger 7 do a better cover of "Big Hits on the Underground").
So back to Sunday night now and it's time for Mick Medew to make his entrance (well actually he'd been there in the crowd watching both support bands, but it sounds a bit more dramatic this way). Physically he's a small, intense man with an unruly mane of hair (and a hairline that must be the envy of many of his contemporaries), dressed simply in plain white shirt and leather trousers; sonically he's a big, intense musical force with distinctive vocals and a graceful, economical guitar style. After quickly setting up their equipment, the trio launched into a steaming cover of "Shakin' All Over" and we were well away for the night. Clearly Mr Medew has not lost his ear for a good riff over the years, while the rhythm section provided a solid pedestal of sound on which the crisp guitar work sat like a classical marble bust, the spirit of Oz rock personified.
Despite Bluebirds being the spiritual successor to the Screaming Tribesmen, persistent cries for "Igloo" were politely ignored, as was a call for "The Red & The Black", the BOC cover which was included as a bonus track on the "Got You On My Mind" single taken from the Tribesmen's final "Formaldehyde" release - obviously the audience included at least one dedicated long term fan with a good memory! Fortunately with Bluebirds Mick has put the more ostentatious metal excesses of the late period Tribesmen behind him, so what we got instead was a collection of melodic metal originals, echoing the various stages of Tribesmen history (one song in particular sounded uncannily like it must have been lifted off the often unfairly overlooked "Blood Lust", though it wasn't a song I actually recognised from that album), played hard, loud and with justified assurance, making for a night of classic guitar rock that ended all too soon.- John McPharlin
1/2
