HEAVY METAL KIDS.

Sutton In Ashfield: The Diamond: 25-3-11

Having been a lifelong fan of The Heavy Metal  kids, you could have knocked me down with a feather when I heard they were playing just an hours drive from Ponte Carlo with their new line-up.
 So Mrs Tightpocket & me dusted our boots off, jumped into the new blue hornet & shot down the M1 to The Diamond in Sutton.

  Now the Diamond in Sutton is a cracking little gig venue with a lovely, warm, welcoming atmosphere. It holds about 300 people & it deserves your patronage. All too many of these places are dying out, which can only be a bad thing for people who love live music.

Gimme a 'C'.

Gimme an 'osmo'.

  Prior to this gig however, as the days & the hours passed, I was becoming more & more anxious as to what this was going to be like. Would it be just another 70s rock band getting back together to go through the motions & pick up the odd cheque along the way?
   All I can say is 'shame on me' for having such thoughts. Shame on me & roger me senseless with the thick end of a rag mans trumpet.

                                                                      Thankfully as soon as they took to the boards, my fears were tossed into the trashcan.

    These guys weren't here just to make up the numbers, they played it all with real heart soul & passion, also suffused with a liberal dose of humour. A heady brew indeed!

    It turned into quite a surreal experience; here I was stood in front of one of my all time favourite bands listening to all those songs which I grew up listening to. I found myself grinning from ear to ear like a cheshire cat, singing along at the top of my voice. 

  New songs like 'cruel world' & '100 skeletons' blend in with the old ones perfectly, which gives credence to my theory that great rock'n'roll never whithers with age. 
 'Squalliday inn', 'she's no angel' & I even got to bawl into the mic during blue eyed boy. Man I was in heaven!

  The new guys; Justin on guitar (jeez, the man's a contortionist) & John Altman on vocals also blend in perfectly. After actually seeing them in the flesh it becomes apparent that he must be the only man on the planet who could replace the late Gary Holton & make the role his own. All dark brooding menace with a hint of humour. An absolutely inspired appointment.

   We even got an interval, the band played two 40 minute spots. Now for 7 quid, that's what I call value for money.
 It was during this break that the bread knife & me ventured backstage for a chat & to get some snapshots, which I have to say they were very friendly & approachable. Absolute gentlemen in fact.

  The above shot was taken by the Kids sound engineer Mr Karl Green, formerly of Hermans Hermits no less.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

The 2nd spot gave us the classic Kids caper 'the  cops are coming'. With its camp vaudeville middle shout along. This deserves to have thousands of people screaming...HIS HEAD FELL OFF.          

With an encore of proto-punk classic 'delirious' the Heavy Metal Kids left us positively ranting & panting for more.

  I make absolutely no apology for loading this blog with more pictures than usual. It's just that............ they were so bloody entertaining.

The acid test of watching any band is the question; 'would I go and see 'em again?'...................

 You bet your sweet little behind I would. In fact the bread knife & me are heading on down to Milton Keynes on my birthday the 23rd of April to catch 'em all over again. 

 Boys & girls this band deserve to be seen. If they're playing in your neck of the woods, do yourself a favour & spend a few paltry quid on an evening of pure quality entertainment.

Dear readers; I give you.....

      THE HEAVY METAL KIDS.

 Chin chin my dears.

                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                             

DEVILISH PRESLEY.

Grimsby Yardbirds 5-3-11.

Aah, the Yardbirds in Grimsby. I've seen the Presleys here before & I have got to say this is one of the finest rock clubs I've ever been to.
 Run by the local 'Warlocks motorcycle club', it's cleaner than a very clean whistle that's just been cleaned & has a great friendly atmosphere, so it's always a pleasure to take that 65 mile drive from dear old Ponte- Carlo. 

 Now, the mighty Devilish Presley have a serious hardcore following & it was great to see a healthy turnout of the 'Devils Dandy Dogs', from as far afield as Oxford & Manchester. A fine effort indeed.

Bring out yer dead!

She rocks, she never stops.

 Mucho praise must also go to local 'Dandy Dogs' Jez & Graham for pushing this gig into the conscience of the local populace, ensuring a very healthy turnout indeed.
 One thing I love about this club is the stage decor, the painted flames seem to take on an ethereal glow under the lights.
 The 'Bad Apples' were first up with their Johnny Cash influenced rockabilly sound & put in a thoroughly entertaining set. 
 But there's only one band who we were itching to see & once again they delivered with some style. 
 Now I am rapidly running out of expletives with which to describe this deadly duo. Dear reader, all you need to know is they rocked like f**k.

 Mr J Navarro was his usual dynamic self, thrusting himself back & forth into the baying throng like a whirling dervish whilst Ms Vixen hogged the stage lights & belted out the anthems we know & love so well.

On the 18th & 19th of this month Devilish Presley take their show to Scotland, where lurks another diehard chapter of the 'Devils Dandy Dogs'. You folks are in for one hell of a weekend.  ENJOY !
 As an honorary member of the DDD it was a pleasure & an honour to meet our cultural & spiritual leader in Grimsby; the fine handsome young fella known only as.......Battle hardened road warrior...... WITHNAIL.

I can see through your skirt with my X-Ray vision.

Chin Chin my dears.

The Replacements

Manchester Boardwalk, Sometime in 1991.

Aah, the Replacements. I was chuffed to bits when I dug these old snaps out, all thanks to my brother for scanning them & to my old point & shoot (nothing's changed there then) Olympus trip for taking them.

  The Replacements & the solo work of Paul Westerberg was all your dear scribe had in the late eighties & most of the nineties.In an era of second rate hairspray, bands they were a breath of fresh air.

The Berg & his soon to be trashed Rickenbacker.

Tommy gets his tonsils out.

 Their gigs were legendary, they could either totally annoy by degenerating into a sloppy shambolic mess & abuse the audience & each other, whilst playing  half assed cover versions for two hours & never completing a single song. 

 On the other hand when they'd got their shit together they were pure dynamite.

 I guess I should consider myself very lucky. On the three occasions I got to see them they were stunning. The most notable being Sheffield Leadmill. They hit the stage dressed in archetypal American tourist garb. All green & yellow checked shirts & jackets, with silver spray painted work boots with dollar signs. How I wish I'd taken my camera that night.

Pre Guns & Roses Tommy

   They started with out 'n' out rocker 'Iou from 'pleased to meet me' & from thereon in, the pace was relentless.

  The Leadmill was the kind of place where the bands had to finish early to make way for the place turning into a nightclub. As the late night clubbers were drifting in they decided to play an hours worth of cover versions for an encore, from Black Sabbath to Mama Cass. GENIUS!

   The snaps you are viewing are from the Manchester Boardwalk in 1991. They were touring on the back of their last album 'All shook down' a much slower affair which showed off Paul Westerbergs husky, late night, smoky voice. 

  They never came across as hard living rock stars. They were more like the naughty little boys from 'Little rascals'. Instead of coke fuelled sex orgies, they always looked like they'd be more at home throwing eggs at your windows then hiding in the bushes giggling about it.

Paul soaked in sweat & tcp. 

   As is usually the case where great talent is concerned, they never got the credit they deserved. Influencing a generation of bands, one producer of note, on hearing 'Never mind' by Nirvana, quoted; 'yup, they've made a half decent Replacements album'.

The Berg goes surfing.

 So there you have it boys & girls. THE REPLACEMENTS. Often imitated, never bettered.

 This post is dedicated to Bill from Edinburgh. A man who finished work on a friday, hopped on a plane to the States on the same afternoon, went to a  Paul Westerberg gig & then flew back home.

 My friend; the word 'Legend' doesn't even begin to come close.

  N.B.  Check out the duet with Paul & Joan Jett from the Tank Girl soundtrack.

Chin Chin my dears.

DEVILISH PRESLEY.

The Appleby- Burton on Trent-26-2-11.


Aaah, the Appleby, one of my favourite venues, a real old fashioned boozer with a great friendly atmosphere & also a happy hunting ground on many occasions for Devilish Presley.

   This is hardly surprising as they approach everything they do with a professionalism that is second to none. From the moment they crashed into the first song you just knew that it was gonna be a special show. The sound out front was spot on, crisp, clear & punchy with just enough crunch on the guitars to lift the hairs on the back of your neck & give your spine a tickle,while the dual vocals complimented each other perfectly.

 The new material (check out the above video to the beast must die) sounded better than I've ever heard.
'Happy as saturday' & 'I created a monster' sees Vixens vocal rip forth from a place deep in the pit of her stomach which I doubt even she knew existed. The song writing has been upped to another level, which I just didn't think possible. It's got more hooks than 'Ed Geins' reception area.
  However the 'piece de resistance' as far as I'm concerned is a song called 'The DTs' or the 'Shakers' I'm not too sure which. It's an ode to the late great Dylan Thomas & how during a late night ouija board session they contacted the great man, the outcome being that he has now become their spirit guide. What great subject matter, what a fantastic song.

  Closing the evenings entertainment was another newie, detailing the bands quest to have the number one single for the end of the world in 2012. 'Kiss kiss apocalypse' is a ripsnorter it's a roarer & it's a rogerer.
 This is one album that's got my appetite not just whetted, but absolutely saturated.
 Boys & girls, this album comes out on May the 9th do yourself a massive favour & buy it. In fact, kill two birds with one stone & buy it from a gig. If you're not satisfied with it, I'll reimburse your money myself.
  The world needs a band like this, if not to walk us gently to the end of the world, then at least to blow away all the cobwebs.

  Next stop Grimsby.... bring it on!
         Chin chin. x.