Vive Le Rock's annual Christmas knees-up was the usual riotous evening of fun - Punktuation's Alex and Ruth caught the action!
Ah, the Vive Le Rock magazine X-Mess gig – it’s becoming a great tradition indeed. The Water Rats gets increasingly packed and sweaty tonight, and so it should; with four quality bands – and a raffle! – on offer, it’s a fine way to cap off another successful year for the publication – which is highly recommended by us!
Janus Stark singer/guitarist Gizz Butt boasts serious chops. Whether it’s the adrenalized rush of ‘Every Little Thing Counts’, the punchy power-pop of ‘Floyd, What Are You On?’ or the darkly groovesome ‘White Man Speak With Fork Tongue’, he’s got all the photographers’ lenses zoomed in on his flying fingers as he frenziedly solos away.
It’s the kind of virtuosity that could be self-indulgent and tedious in the wrong hands, but tonight, it just adds another layer of awesomeness to an already blistering set. They finish with a quick cover of The Buzzcocks’ ‘Ever Fallen In Love’, and depart to raucous applause, having raised the bar in fine style.
The Middlenight Men have their work cut out following such an explosive start to the evening, but ultimately, they’ve got the tunes and the stamina (dealing with a booze-soaked stage and a misbehaving mic stand) required. Their frontman is wearing a sparkly black suit, and it seems appropriate, given how brightly their tunes sparkle; we get the likes of ‘B.A. Baby’ and the closing ‘Rat Star’ are probably going to be bouncing around our brains for days to come. Apparently, their mission is to spread “infectious melodic rock songs to raise huge smiles”, and tonight is definitely a case of mission accomplished.
Marc Valentine and his band remind us of The Speedways’ set at last year’s VLR X-Mess – partly because there’s a certain overlap in sound, but mainly because Mr Valentine seems to have the same kind of songwriting Midas Touch as The Speedways’ Matt Julian does. In particular, the jaunty piano and guitar of last year’s ’Jinx Of Finchley Road’ make for something so catchy it should be illegal. We don’t know how old the man himself is, but he’s absolutely brimming with youthful energy; maybe playing this kind of music really does keep you young after all. Check out his recent ‘Basement Sparks’ LP; it’s superb stuff.
Desperate Measures keep it short and sweet tonight, kicking off with venomous renditions of their own ‘Back To The Rats’ and ‘Seven Sisters’ before diving headfirst into a handful of covers, with guest guitarist Dean Croney. They’re all good choices, but the pick of the bunch has to be a turbocharged romp through the Sex Pistols’ ‘Bodies’, with singer Eugene channelling his inner Johnny Rotten to great effect.
As finales go, and as end-of-year gigs go, this will take some beating, so here’s to another hard, fast and loud year for Vive Le Rock! Cheers for having us, guys.
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: RUTH RAE
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