Transport woes be damned, there's rock n' roll fun to be had!
Troopers. That’s probably the best word to describe everyone involved in putting on tonight’s gig. Even a great rock n’ roll show can struggle to draw a mid-week crowd, but this week’s tube strike has brought the capital to a near standstill, and the usual colourful Shake Some Acton crowd is a bit, shall we say, depleted. But the shared view tonight seems to be that the show must go on, & the vibe at the Hope & Anchor is as upbeat and friendly as ever.
Jonny Moses And The Electric Motherfuckers play with all the verve of a band headlining their own sold-out show, and as the opening notes of ‘No Satisfaction’ burst into life, we’re instantly convinced we made the right decision to show up. Like all the best bands, they make playing gut-level punk rock n’ roll look a hell of a lot easier than it actually is, and the reality hits home during a bass and guitar mini-duel on ‘Where We Come From’. These guys have certainly got the chops to be tediously self-indulgent prog rock merchants, but they’ve also got the good taste to keep things taut, concise and gloriously catchy. A great (and sharply-dressed!) start to the evening.
Dealing With Damage are soon going to need a bigger stage. Not just because of the way vocalist/guitarist Ed and bassist Owen bounce around (keep an eye on each other’s headstocks, guys!), but because if the couple of new songs aired tonight are anything to go by, their forthcoming third album is going to be the definitive DWD record. In particular, new single ‘Wrong Sometimes’ is shot through with punk rock fury and a sense of urgency; middle-aged complacency is very much not on the horizon, it seems. The London quintet seem to get ever more fired-up and agitated with every show they play, so take our advice, and go see them before they do themselves an injury and decide to reinvent themselves as an acoustic folk-pop act. Or something like that, anyway.
Teo Wise and his band have come all the way from Italy, and from the start, it’s clear that they’re having a ball, with the main man brandishing his Flying V guitar like some kind of rock n roll rifle. Self-described as ‘spaghetti rock n’ roll’, he blends elements of punk, rock n’ roll and new wave with Italian-language lyrics, plus a generous helping of cowbell to boot. If the likes of ‘Morto Di Caldo’ and ‘Confusionale’ don’t lift your spirits and get you dancing along, we fear there’s not much hope for you; goodness knows we’re having fun, and it all feels more like a gathering of friends than a gig in the traditional sense. Teo, London loves you, and we promise we’ll be out in force to show it next time.
A triumph for music over transport-related adversity, then! Cheers to Shake Some Acton for having us, and check out details of their future gigs on the links below.
Main Photo Credit: CLARE DOWSE
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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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