Melbourne rock band RVG (an acronym of Romy Vager Group) visited London as part of their tour - reviewer Alex made sure to catch their great show!
Ahead of tonight’s opening band, Alphabet, we excitedly spy a Fender Jazzmaster lying on the stage, next to about ten different effects pedals. Are we in for some My Bloody Valentine-esque sonic wizardry? Turns out we are. On the likes of ‘Burning Laugh’ and ‘Motion Sickness’, their lead guitarist summons his inner Kevin Shields over some seriously groovy post-punk tunes, the end result leaving us hoping for an EP (or suchlike) soon. Take note, please, folks.
To make music iike RVG do, you have to have lived a life like that of frontwoman Romy Vager. We won’t dwell on the specifics right now; suffice to say that she’s faced much more than her fair share of adversity. What is evident, though, is that she’s channelled all her frustration into her songs to truly amazing effect. Last year’s ‘Brain Worms’ LP is her band’s best work to date, and be it the adrenalised rush of the opening ‘Midnight Sun’ or the mournful ‘Tambourine’, everything tonight is played with the intensity and urgency of a band with nothing to lose.
With her face obscured by her hair for much of the gig, Romy cuts an almost Cobain-esque figure; indeed, like the late Nirvana frontman, she’s adept at coaxing both the sweetest of melodies and the most abrasive sonic warfare from her guitar. How on earth she finds the energy to deliver this kind of performance night after night is beyond us, but as we sway to the hypnotic rhythm of ‘Nothing Ever Changes’, we can’t help but wonder if RVG’s moment has finally arrived.
“Do you want two or three more songs?” Of course, the answer is three. Little did we know though, that Romy was going to give it her all – and then some – for an absolutely spellbinding mid-encore rendition of ‘Photograph’, which gradually transforms from a plaintive ballad into a glorious wall of sound that evokes The Jesus And Mary Chain at their finest. After that, the final ‘Vincent Van Gogh’ is almost surplus to requirements, given that we’re all still picking our jaws up from the floor.
Full disclosure; I’ve been doing bits and pieces of music journalism for nearly a quarter of a century, and rarely find myself as lost for words as I am now. Just know this: if you agree that the true significance of punk is as the voice of the unheard and the misunderstood, if you believe in music as catharsis and if you’re willing to take a chance on a songwriter with the Midas touch, then RVG will not disappoint you. Trust me.
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: ALEX GOOSE
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I spend my days teaching English to foreign students, and my evenings attending as many gigs as possible. Raised mainly on a diet of 90s third-wave punk, my tastes have grown to include just about anything from trad ska to thrash metal. The Ramones are my musical gods.
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