THE SAINTS
+ THE REPUBLIKANS
Club Debaser, Stockholm
20 March, 2005
WORDS: Dave Champion
PICTURES: Jessica RanefallI've already caught a lot of stick from my pals for liking, nay LOVING, this show. "Jesus Christ,
Champion, I thought you had taste! How could you like this suckass show? It wasn't even the real Saints!"
That kinda crap.
My answer? What the fuck were you expecting? It sure as shit ain't 1977 and most folks know that Chris
Bailey has used the Saints name for years with an ever-revolving cast of characters filling in for the
"classic" lineup that made the first two LPs which are so known and loved here in the socialist utopia of
Sweden.
Tonight, Bailey had Marty Wilson-Piper of the Church playing the part of Ed Kuepper. But that statement is somewhat unfair as Wilson-Piper is an excellent guitarist who added his own touch to the evening's proceedings. Caspar Wijnberg on bass and drummer Pete Wilkinson make up the current engine room and neither of these gents are slouches on their respective instruments. Wilkinson apparently is also an excellent
songwriter as Bailey kept saying "and this one was written by Peter. Now, won't one of you lovely ladies
take him home and shag him?"
For those who haven't seen Bailey in a while you might be surprised that he has developed into a fine rhythm guitarist playing on every song save one. His acerbic wit, commonly referred to as being an "asshole" and undoubtedly fueled by a few drinks, was in fine form also.
After a killer, if not too short, set by Stockholm's The Republikans, Bailey and company took the stage to
a full house. Not bad for a Sunday night. Opening with "Porno Movies" from the latest LP "Nothing is Straight
in my House" they then stormed into the band's best known song "(I'm) Stranded". Most folks were expecting this to be the final song but once again Bailey continued to surprise all in attendence.
Following "Nothing is Straight in my House" it became apparent that Saints soundman Geezer did NOT have his shit together at all. The vocals were plagued by endless feedback resulting in an admonishment by
Bailey. House soundman Peter stepped in to assist and improved the situation. But I have to say it was fun
to stand there and listen to Bailey make jokes about sounding like a Japanese transistor radio: "This is
Chris from Tokyo. Are you having a good time?"
After a tease of the first two lines of "Simple Love" (I had asked Bailey earlier if they were going to perform this song. "We can" was his answer) they stormed into "This Perfect Day" and "Messing with the Kid". The latter was an extended version with Bailey ad libbing lines about Japanese radios and Van
Morrison being a crack addicted pedophile. Wilson-Piper (above) was on his knees torturing his Fender Jaguar during the song's raucous finale.
"Just Like Fire Would" is my favourite song from "All Fools Day" and the band did not disappoint. After
"Bang On" from the new LP, they concluded the set with rousing renditions of "Nights in Venice" and "Know
Your Product.
It did NOT help that one of the off-duty bouncers at the venue kept bringing me shots of bourbon (tack som
fan, jävle väktare!) I also had to be up four hours later for work but I was determined to stay for the encore.
Following a brief pause Bailey walked back on stage, cigarette hanging from his mouth and strapped on an
acoustic guitar. "Do you smoke cigarettes? You shouldn't. It's bad for you." He handed the cigarette to some fan and began playing "Simple Love" solo, followed by "Massacre" from the "Prodigal Son" LP.
After asking for the monitors to be turned off he began "Ghost Ships" acoustically. The rest of the band
rejoined him after the first verse and the song kicked into high gear. This was followed by "Gypsy Woman"
with it's "Walk Dont Run" type riff. Jesus, they had been onstage for almost 95 minutes by now and Bailey
is pushing 50.
Well, there was room for one more. Bailey put down his guitar, thanked the audience in a
sardonic manner and asked Wilson-Piper to play "the best song we can do for these fine people from Stockholm." They kicked into Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High" and the place erupted. Wijnberg's bass breakdown was exceptional. Not bad. Not bad at all.
I 'll leave the final word on this show to my pal, Janne. "One of the 5 best shows ever at Debaser." I
have to agree.
And to all my, ahem, "associates" who will undoubtedly give me grief for this review I say this: Bring it on,
daddy-o!!
SET LIST: Porno Movies/(I'm) Stranded/No Time/A Madman Wrecked My Happy Home/Waiting for God (OH!)/Nothing is Straight in My House/This Perfect Day/Messing with the Kid/Just Like Fire Would/Bang On/Nights in Venice/Know Your Product/ Encore: Simple Love/Massacre/Ghost Ships/Gypsy Woman/River Deep, Mountain High
