The Nightingales @ Alexandra Palace

The Nightingales @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

To the main act: The Damned. Taking to the stage are: the king of the keyboards, mad professor lookalike, Monty Oxymoron, new-man behind the kit Will Taylor, who it must be said doesn’t put a stick wrong all night, the slender man in the black beret on the Rickenbacker bass Paul Gray, the unmistakable figure, in Denis the Menace t-shirt and red beret, Captain Sensible and the evermore dapper Dave Vanian tonight clad in suit and tie, black leather gloves, sunglasses and fedora, rather resembling the cover of HG Wells 1897 classic The Invisible Man.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace - 2023-04-20, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

And make no mistake that this was the 2023 incarnation of the band. Anyone here expecting a repeat of last year’s nostalgia-laced 1977 act would, barring a handful of numbers towards the tail-end of the set have been disappointed. This was a band very much touting its latest work in the form of DARKADELIC which will be released any day now.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Opening with the towering Street Of Dreams taken from 1985’s Phantasmagoria, before launching into the new single Invisible Man from the imminent DARKADELIC. It’s a brooding song with atmospheric keyboard and nice wah solo courtesy of the superb Captain Sensible. Next was the anthemic Wait For The Blackout from 1980’s the Black Album, followed by Lively Arts from the same album. Then the band switched to giving a proper airing to the new album – and it’s a goodie! Bad Weather Girl, You’re Gonna Realise, which features a sublime vocal from Mr. Vanian whose vocals are impeccable throughout, and Western Promise with its psychedelic feel, present a rich triumvirate of new songs from new album.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Beware Of The Clown is perhaps the band’s most overtly political song yet reminding the listeners about the perils of Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. It is a real rocker and injects considerable bite into the live set. The pacey Wake The Dead, Follow Me, which is about social media, and Motorcycle Man which probably derives from Dave’s own love of motorcycles, Leader Of The Gang are also all taken from DARKADELIC.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Before Born To Kill, the first track this evening from the band’s debut classic of 1977. Then its straight back to the incoming new LP with From Your Lips, followed by the brilliant Love Song from 1979’s Machine Gun Etiquette and Second Time Around from 1980’s Black Album.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

The dark Standing On The Edge of Tomorrow from 2018’s Evil Spirits brings the set to a close. Encores of the imperious Eloise from 1986’s Anything, Neat, Neat, Neat from the first album, of course, and Smash It Up (Parts 1&2) from the superb Machine Gun Etiquette, replete with excoriating guitar lines courtesy of the Captain, conclude a fabulous performance by a band that ought to be at the tail end of their career but who instead are enjoying a purple patch of well-deserved adulation.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Some 10 years ago The Damned played to an audience of fewer than 20 people at the Ink Fest weekender, last year they sold out the Hammersmith Apollo for the one-off reunion tour. Now they are packing out the Ally Pally Theatre, with a second date added and with a new album about to be released the band is enjoying a new generation of support which will also include a swing by Worthy Farm for this June’s Glastonbury Festival.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Because, without doubt, whilst the bulk of the audience was what we might term ‘legacy punters’ a significant portion was composed of a much younger demographic. Despite the band’s album title, their future looks bright.

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace

The Damned @ Alexandra Palace, 20/04/23, Rockshot Magazine, Pauline Di S.

Live review and photography The Damned @ Alexandra Palace Theatre on 20th April 2023 by Nick Kemp. Photography by Pauline Di Silvestro.

Black Honey Bring A Fistful Of Peaches To Koko

Masterminded by Tom Waters, former double-bassist with Psychobilly maestros the Zipheads, this punk all-dayer held at the Horn in St. Albans was held in order to raise funds for a wonderful charity called Electric Umbrella. The charity works with adults with learning difficulties, providing them with therapy through the medium of music.

As I walked through the door, I was greeted by the extraordinary dulcet-tones of Sinead Quinn singing You Are My Sunshine – this was a really heart-warming moment with the microphone being passed to her seven year old daughter, Emerald, who sang quite beautifully. This in a small way encapsulated the inclusiveness of the day’s event. The front bar reverberated to the wonderful sounds of Billington and Quinn, who were on the buskers stage. It was a mere dozen or so paces to the back room, where full bands played on a second stage in alternating sets ensuring nonstop music.

Kicking off the afternoon’s proceedings were The Rockit Pack, a sort of punk party band with a singer who was not unlike John Shuttleworth. Beginning their set with The Blues Brothers’ Everybody Needs Somebody,t hey indicated their good-time band credentials. This was followed by Now I’m A Believer and then somewhat unusually by Men At Work’s A Land Down Under, other left field choices included Tom Jones’ Delilah, Britney Spears’ Hit Me Baby One More Time and BlackSabbath’s Paranoid, alongside the more standard fare of the Undertones’ TeenageKicks, the Buzzocks’ Ever Fallen In Love, Sham 69’s Hurry up Harry, AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie and concluding with the obligatory Ramones’ cover – Blitzkrieg Bop.

While it would be fair to say that they were not the best band in the world, they were a splendidly entertaining band who, thanks to John Shuttleworth’s forays into the audience inviting audience members to sing along, provided an ideal kick-start to the day.

Back to the buskers bar and centre stage was St. Alban’s own, Zipheads main man, and Tom’s cousin Ray Waters.  Beginning with a witty ditty about his erstwhile bandmates, Ray then produced a fine version of the Merle Travis classic Sixteen Tons, then a composition of his own Roswell New Mexico, before a superb version of Nick Lowe’s What’s Shakin On The Hill. A cover of Warren Smith’s Uranium Rock went down very well with the handful of Rockabillies in attendance.

Then two originals, one called Alison Bree, a song about Ray‘s unrequited love for the American actress of the same name. And then a song entitled My Dad Listens To Reggae, which recounted the story of Ray’s late father’s love of Jamaican music. Then came Billy Bragg’s masterpiece New England on which Ray acquitted himself very well. Ray concluded his set by singer-songwriter-fying the Offspring’s Pretty Fly For A White Guy, which rounded off a typically wonderful performance by Mr. Waters.

It was then back to the back room for what turned out to be an astonishingly accomplished set by a band that I had not heard of or seen before, the inventively entitled Hallouminati. Though it may sound improbable, this band combined delightful Greek folk music, with ska and punk. The band’s frontman even played an electric bouzouki. They really were a breath of fresh air, and I urge all of you to go and see them play if you have the opportunity. They have an energy and charisma that makes them very appealing.

Next on in the buskers bar were the Maida Vales, or at least two of them. They put on a very good show with the rhythm and lead guitars working well together. With songs such as Love Is Suicide, Kiss Me Goodbye and Open Door, there is much to like about this band, especially when they throw in a delightful cover of I Want To Be LikeYou from Walt Disney’s the Jungle Book. The band concluded with a delightful rendition of The Doors’ Love Me Two Times.

Next up were the wonderful Larry Neal and the Slingers. This is effectively Electric Umbrella’s house band and consisting of three adults with learning difficulties, on lead vocals Laurence, on lead guitar Ollie and on drums Jonathan with the addition of Ray Waters on guitar and Tom Waters on bass.

The band worked its way rather splendidly through punk classics such as Hurry Up Harry by Sham 69, the Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen, The Undertones’ great anthem Teenage Kicks, Sham’s If The Kids Are United, concluding with a superb version of The Clash classic Should  I Stay Or Should I Go? This was a performance to melt hearts, with the help of Messrs Waters, this wonderful band had pulled off one of the most memorable performances that anyone is likely to experience – brilliant.

Back to the buskers bar, where Grae J. Wall and Los Chicos Muertos begin their set with a cracking rendition of a song made popular by Kurt Cobain, Where Did You Sleep Last Night. The sound is complemented delightfully by the double bass in this trio, while the drummer knocks out the rhythm on a wooden board. The band’s rendition of I Want To Be Sedated was excellent and benefitted tremendously from the harmonica playing of the lead singer. A rendition of Daniel Johnson’s True Love Will Find You In The End was handled deftly. Drunken 12 Bar In E, an up-tempo rocker of a song, was perhaps the pick of the bunch. I really liked these chaps and will look out for them in the future.

© Pauline Di S.

The penultimate act of the evening came in the form of psychedelic noise punks Dead Horse. Consisting of a drummer and two guitarists and a singer who was quite indecipherable, this band created a wall of sound which certainly rocked. Though, I confess that finding their groove was a little bit elusive for me. It’s just as well that we’re all different.

© Pauline Di S.

© Pauline Di S.

When Dead Horse had finished playing, I found myself one of two people left in the room. This was partly understandable bearing in mind that the day was already some ten hours long and the prospect of work the next morning. Mercifully some fifteen people reconvened for the headlining band St. Alban’s very own Brocker. And jolly good they were too. They have all of the key attributes of a very good melodic punk band: they have plenty of energy, tight musicianship and wonderful tunes.

© Pauline Di S.

© Pauline Di S.

© Pauline Di S.

Mixing their brand of punk with a bit of ska, they put on a very fine show, at one point inviting Tom Waters on stage to dance to a brilliant ska song entitled Stoffel from their latest platter. Tom then stayed on stage to sing a splendid version of Blitzkrieg Bop. Playing the bulk of the band’s latest album, Brocker demonstrated ably why they are top dogs. The Machine, Alcohol And Rock n’ Roll, Hellride, Distorted and Outside Of The Box, all from the Shambolic album, are all absolute winners. After the best part of an hour on stage, Brocker proudly lowered the curtain on an event that had been the antithesis of Shambolic.

This had been a terrific day of music for a fabulous cause. Well done to Tom Waters and hoorah for Electric Umbrella.

Live Review by Nick Kemp & Photography by Pauline di Silvestro at The Horn, St. Albans, for the Electric Umbrella Fundraiser on Sunday, 26th January 2020.

Brocker are a punk rock band hailing from St Albans, who have just released their third self-produced album entitled Shambolic and it is to celebrate this event that the assembled have turned up. For the first, and perhaps the last, time the band will play the entirety of their new album from start to finish.

The set kicks off with Machine. I’m not sure what it is about punk bands, but they frequently seem to have terrific bass players and Brocker are no exception. With its reprise of “I don’t want you, I don’t need you” this is a song that could easily have come off a Bad Religion album.

The second song, Inferno, is a very up-tempo number and is nicely done with chugging guitar accompanied by nifty work on the bass and the sledgehammer drums that characterise the whole album. The next song that the band plays, Something About Devils, is also the single and is marked by very nice dynamics, a strong sense of melody, and all-round very good musicianship. The guitar playing of Pako is especially impressive and this is a great song that even includes the requisite “woah, woah” punk section.

The fourth song is Gasoline, which bassist Ky helpfully informs us is the American word for petrol. This is quite a hard and fast number that really works. It’s followed by Stereo, which also moves along at a fair old rate of knots and has a sort of Motorhead feel to it, with the guitar sounding a bit like Ace Of Spades. At this point, drummer Janchi enquired what the crowd thought of the new album. “Shit!” came the reply quick as a flash, to everyone’s amusement.

Stoffel is the band’s first foray into the realm of ska punk on this album and they do it rather well, combining the off-beat pattern with a sing-along punk chorus. The song interestingly was penned by Janchi, and it is perfectly evident from this that he is not suffering from delusions of grandeur.

Outside The Box sees the pace slowed a little, but there is a strong sense of melody here, with an especially tuneful guitar solo. “Don’t believe everything you read” is obviously a lament about the state of the media, which, in a time of fake news, seems entirely apt. The pace is immediately upped on the next track, Distorted, with a very nice riff, rather like the now sadly defunct band Knocksville. The song also has nice dynamics and the harmonies are a little reminiscent of Mega City Four. It is a good song!

Hellride is a classic US-style punk song and would not be out of place on an Offspring album. Underworld is a much more measured song, which again has nice use of harmonies and a rather good breakdown section with delightful bass playing. Taking its place halfway through the set is Mayday, another good track with a ska section in it followed by a rather classy guitar solo. If anything, the song has rather too much in it.

The straightforward rocker Alcohol & Rock N’ Roll again makes good use of backing vocals as well as the soloing talents of Pako who proves himself to be a very fine wielder of the Gretsch. Nowadays, which concludes the album, begins with just the bass before the drums join in and then the guitar, but thereafter the song is fairly standard punk and is to my ears probably the weakest song of the album. No sooner had they finished this song when the bass player launched into the introduction to Ace Of Spades, which concluded their set.

Taken as a whole, this was a very impressive set by a band that certainly knows its onions when it comes to punk. All three members are fine musicians and the vocals were spot on. So, all in all, this was a jolly good night, especially for a school night. I take my hat off to Brocker for a tip-top show and a fitting launch for their new album, that is anything but, Shambolic!

Live Review by Nick Kemp & Photography by Pauline Di Silvestro of Brocker album launch at Signature Brew Taproom & Venue on 17th October 2019.

Now in his 70^thyear and with a shock of white hair Nick Lowe has rediscovered his rockier roots. The two first got together at the suggestion of the band’s shared manager and record label. Last year Los Straitjackets put out an album of instrumental cover versions of Nick Lowe songs.

Nick Lowe

As Eddie Angel lead guitarist points out Lowe is not only a first class song writer, but also a master of melody which ensured a terrific album. The two have also recorded together with the excellent rockabilly-esque Tokyo Bay being released in 2018 and a further ep being released last month featuring four tracks three of which are Lowe originals.

As the five take the stage the sight is a little incongruous with the four lucha-libre clad musicians alongside Nick Lowe in white open-necked shirt and acoustic guitar, but then the music does the talking.

The set begins with 1978’s  So It Goes, the first release on Stiff Records and is followed by Without Love from 1979’s Labour of Lust album, You Inspire Me features a delightful intro from Eddie Angel who, all night trades licks with the similarly superb guitar work of Greg Townson. 1990’s Shting Shtang sees the band really rock things up and this is continued with aforementioned Tokyo Bay that goes down a treat with the assembled. 

Guitarist Greg Townson

Nick Lowe then announces that he is going back stage to ‘have a bath’ whilst leaving us in the more than capable hands of Los Straitjackets who treat us to a surf-guitar master class, including a delightful rendition of the Celine Dion song my Heart Will Go On as well as their own frenetic compositions Kawanga!, Space Mosquito and Itchy Chicken all of which showcase the phenomenal talent of Messrs Angel and Townson.

Pete Curry on Bass

When Nick returns to the stage he plays the very melodic Half A Boy And Half A Man from the 1984 album Nick Lowe And His Cowboy Outfit. Next are two new songs Love Starvation and Blue On Blue, the latter a wonderful melancholic ballad. Cruel To Be Kind from 1979 is a tremendously catchy song that is delivered superbly with the silky smooth vocals of Nick.

Drummer Chris Sprague

Heart Of The City taken from the Jesus Of Cool album quickens the pace as the show moves towards a crescendo culminating with I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock ABrinsley Schwarznd Roll. The set is met with genuinely rapturous applause.

Los Straitjackets return to the stage and perform an instrumental before Nick re-joins the band for a splendid version of Rockpile’s When I Write the Book, followed in quick succession by the terrific ballad What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding? The final encore sees Nick cover Elvis Costello’s Alison.

Los Straitjackets

This has been an absolutely superb review of the career of one of the most prolific and original contributors to the English music scene over the past 50 years complete with sublime musical accompaniment in the form of Los Straitjackets. Indeed, it was quite inspirational.

Review of Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on 20^thJune 2019 by Nick Kemp. Photos by Simon Jay Price.