Four quality bands to kick off a rock n' roll weekend!
Just a general heads-up, folks; Signature Brew Haggerston has decent air conditioning, so please don’t use the heat as an excuse not to show up for gigs there. Suffice to say that attendance tonight could be better, but the Shake Some Acton train deservedly keeps a-rollin’, and those that are here certainly aren’t lacking in enthusiasm.
Maybe it’s partly their singer/guitarist’s golden-brown Les Paul, but Mapache initially remind us of early Social Distortion, albeit with plenty of cheeky British charm. The likes of ‘Battery Powered’ and the ultra-catchy ‘New World Order’ boast the kind of choruses that instantly take up residence in your brain, and trust us, you’ll be grateful. No, it’s nothing we haven’t heard many times before, but not all bands can play punk n’ roll with this much vitality. A great start.
You soon get the feeling that Versaints’ bassist is the one keeping his hard and heavy post-punk trio grounded. It very probably isn’t their drummer, who smashes away at his kit with the kind of deranged glee we’d associate with Godzilla levelling a city, and it’s definitely not their guitarist/vocalist, who gives his instrument something of a good-cop-bad-cop treatment. If you’re a fan of taut grooves overlaid with scratchy guitars and vocals with more than a hint of Cobain, then songs like ‘Lucky’ and ‘Blue Eyed Boy’ will absolutely deliver, and we suggest you join us in checking out their debut album ‘SOS’. Essential.
It’s probably just as well that tonight’s crowd is a peaceful bunch, because when The Spacewasters really put the pedal to the metal, they’re the ideal soundtrack to a bar room brawl. You know, one of those saloon-type bars, with chairs and bottles flying in every direction? No? Ok, maybe it’s just us. Anyway, whether taking aim at racists on ‘Roll Over’ or tipping their collective hat to fellow aging punk rockers on ‘Motivator’, they remain a seriously groovy proposition; add to that the charisma and stage presence of frontman Mick, and they really can’t fail tonight, with the odd microphone gremlin rapidly flattened under their rock n’ roll wheels.
In terms of energy alone, headliners The Rumours leave us all in the dust. Vocalist/bassist Ela and vocalist/guitarist Carli bounce around the stage in a blur of leopard print, high kicks, tattoos and no end of sweat; you get the impression they’ve been doing this long enough to have an almost telepathic musical connection, but haven’t lost an iota of passion for what they do.
Oh, and the songs are great too; veering from almost hardcore punk intensity (‘I Said No’, ‘D.U.I.’) to the kind of catchy punked-up tunes that L7 would kick themselves for not having written (‘It’s Not Me (It’s You)’; the closing ‘Cuntrol Freak’), and all delivered with no little venom. Many punk/rock n’ roll bands set out to entertain, only a few manage to electrify. The Rumours are firmly in the latter camp, and tonight they triumph in fine style.
Cheers to Shake Some Acton for having us along for the ride! Check out details of future SSA gigs (there are several!) on the links below.
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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