Reading went Rockabilly with Red Hot Riot opening for Psychobilly stalwarts Guana Batz!
It may be a Thursday night in Reading, but the wrecking crew are back out to watch one of the original Psychobilly and Klub Foot stalwarts, Guana Batz. It’s forty years since the band released their debut ‘Held Down to Vinyl…At Last’ and there has been a seismic change in the music scene since then, but the appeal of Guana Batz has remained steadfast.
Opening tonight are Red Hot Riot who, with the likes of The Zipheads (who incidentally would play a blinding set a few days later here), continue to fly the flag for the scene that refuses to go away. Last time I saw the band was supporting Delta Bombers, and I was impressed enough to buy their ‘Sacrifice to Paradise’ album. Starting with the rockabilly strut of ‘We’re in this Together’, the suitably bequiffed Ricky Delaney has an immediate presence as he takes centre stage. With Scott McParland on upright bass and Daniel West on drums, the incredibly tight rhythm section produces a fantastic bouncing beat.
The likes of ‘The Mask’ and ‘Sleep When You’re Dead’ are mighty slabs of very danceable rock ‘n’ roll. Unlike many other genres, this is one that is never afraid to show its influences with covers of ‘Up Jumped the Devil’ and ‘Tainted Love’ getting the rockabilly treatment. The influence of The Stray Cats hangs heavy over the band, and that is no bad thing with a song such as ‘Life You Get’ which could have come straight from Brian Setzer’s songbook. The Cats own ‘Rock This Town’ always sounds good, and the band have no problems giving it the respect it deserves. The future of rockabilly and psychobilly is certainly in safe hands based on this performance.
The stage is set for Guana Batz with Paul ‘Choppy’ Lambourne’s stunningly painted upright bass dominating. The band arrive and launch into ‘Take a Rocket’ with original members vocalist Pip Hancox and guitarist Stuart Osborne joined by Jared Hren on drums. ‘Bring my Cadillac Back’ follows and considering the band have had only one rehearsal prior to tonight, they are sounding mighty fine, even more so as Pip didn’t make the rehearsal. Missing the rehearsal does mean that the rest of the band prepared the set list and included a number of less performed numbers – as Pip was soon to discover.
He may have just turned sixty, but Pip is showing little sign of it as he bounds across the stage, his heavily tattooed torso glistening in the Facebar’s minimal lights. The band sound as fresh as ever and Pip’s vocals show little sign of weakening as he runs through the songs his bandmates have chosen. It’s a good mix of tracks from the band’s catalogue including ‘Love Generator’, ‘Loan Shark’ and ‘You Can Run’ mixed with newer tracks such as ‘Girl On A Motorbike’ and ‘The One’. There’s even space for a solid performance of the ‘Joe 90’ theme tune.
The rockabilly shuffle of ‘I’m On Fire’ has the dance floor reverberating as the crowd gyrate in unison. Introducing ‘Self Destruction’ as a song people wouldn’t know as nobody bought their records in the 1990s, Pip hands vocal duties over to Stuart, who, after a false start, soon has the crowd singing along. It’s a fine run into the end of the set with ‘Lady Bacon’, ‘Shake your Moneymaker’ and ‘Got No Money’.
There’s no place to hide at the Facebar, so the band rearrange themselves before launching into the encore. Their version of Elvis Costello’s ‘Radio Sweetheart’ has long been a fan favourite and it sounds brilliant tonight. It wouldn’t be a Guana Batz gig if they didn’t finish on the thrash-about lunacy of ‘King Rat’ and the crowd are left begging for more. Sadly, that is it, and the band head off to spend time talking to the fans.
The Facebar is fast proving a fertile stomping ground for the punk/goth/psychobilly scene with a number of punters travelling some distance to get here. The Hillbilly Moon Explosion supported by The Zipheads would play a fantastic gig a few days later, and the legendary Demented Are Go will be making an appearance here at the end of the year. Here’s to seeing even more bands of this caliber come to Reading.
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: IAN LADLOW
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My first gig was The Damned at Hull City Hall a few days after my 16th birthday way back in the mid-eighties. 800 gigs and 1,700 bands later, my love of live music remains undiminished – the thrill of discovering a new band is still one of life’s greatest experiences. My musical tastes cover a wide spectrum, but punk and goth still dominate my listening habits.
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