Flash Tightpocket: August 2011

Sunday, 21 August 2011

THE HEAVY METAL KIDS

The Robin 2-Bilston- 11-8-11
It seems like many a yonker since we last saw the good ol' H.M.K, when in truth it was only the end of may, with Phil Lewis at the helm.

After the disappointment of missing these fine fellows in Blackpool, Madame Tightpocket & me knew we just had to make the extra effort to get our sorry asses down to the midlands for this show. So without further ado, your old mate Flash & his trusty breadknife knocked off work at 5.30, had a quick top & tail in the bath & hotfooted it down to Bilston in a borrowed car. A nice steady 2 hour drive.

On our first visit to Bilston, we were pleasantly surprised. It,s a fantastic, purpose built venue, nestled in the leafy 'burbs', on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. there's also well lit a car park to the rear of the venue. Idyllic!

On first venturing into the place, the support band were going through their motions, they were making a fine, punchy din but their name does escape me, (maybe someone can enlighten me) for this I can only apologise, but it had been a long day & we had come to see the kids; SO SHOOT ME.

There are some things in this world which fill you with a sense of warmth & wellbeing. We were met with such a sight on repairing to the bar. For there, in all their glory, indulging in the finer points of fine Courvoisier Cognac,(how I wish I wasn't driving) was Keith & Ronnie from the Kids. So it was with hugs & handshakes all round, that we finally knew that we'd made it to the gig.

We were also introduced to some lovely people from the Birmingham area, who are long, long time fans of the Kids. One of whom, who was inspired to take up the drums after seeing Keith in action, (one of many, I'll wager) many moons ago. Their influence travels far & wide.
I also have to mention the 'Kids' T-shirt, worn by one of these fine fellows. It was an old design, which I recall seeing Danny wearing & If my memory serves me right, Keith used to have the design on his bass skin.
To say I was green with envy, is an outrageous understatement. But alas, it was a custom made run of 6.
If anyone has a spare one of these in a large, I have a wife & children, of whom I would willingly trade in exchange for one of these fine artefacts.

So please tell me dear readers, if their influence, popularity & notieriety travels far & wide, & I know it does, then why was this gig so sparseley populated? Is it because there isn't a soap star, or an L.A rockstar on vocal duties? My dears you shouldn't be so shallow. For cometh the hour cometh the man. Step forward Justin McConville. A man who is more than up to the task. He delivers with some gusto & he is also the bread knifes fave Kids singer of recent years. Who am I to argue? She has a kick like Peter Lorimer.

When it comes to the bare bones of rock'n'roll this band never lets you down. Boy can they deliver!
& deliver they did my dears. I had to afford myself a wee titter when some wit from the audience hollered the words 'Rock an RoooOoooooooOoooooll', only to be followed by by Justin screaming, 'Rock an ROOOOOOOOOOOOoOOOOoOOOOOll' & off they went into the old classic, Rock and roll man. But I swear, if you closed your eyes, it could have been the original kid hollerin those sacred words. Then there's dear Cosmo. I don't know what he does, or how he does it, but his fretwork during 'It's the same' always seems to tug at the old heartstrings.

Once again & all too soon, it was time to wave au revoir. Which, dear reader, brings me to this; on Saturday the 10th of September, the Heavy Metal Kids will be playing at Bedford Esquires. It's a great club & it's a 2 hour plus drive for the bread knife & me, but what the hell we're going. Now I know the Kids have a following. I can tell by the amount of hits I get for them on this blogspot. So let's get our arses into gear & get this venue full up to the gunnels & make it one hell of a party.
Hope to see you all there.

Gratuitous shot of Madame Tightpocket with Keith.

As usual feel free to download & use any of the shots.
Chin chin my dears.

Monday, 15 August 2011

PINK CIGAR

Camden Enterprize: 6-8-11
Greetings my dears & welcome to another & I hope, one of many more posts on the deliciously groovy; Pink Cigar.
Now the bread knife & me had hoped to catch these boys on both the 5th & the 6th & we booked our hotel & transport correspondingly. So it was with much chagrin & gritting of teeth when we found out Fridays show in Brixton was cancelled due to the venue not having a licence. The words 'incompetent' & 'tossers' spring immediately to mind.

So, on the Friday night, Madame Tightpocket & myself were left to our own devices. We couldn't find a gig to go to, so decided a trip to the Criterion theatre in Piccadilly, to see 'the 39 steps' was the way to go. Thoroughly enjoyable though it was; in comparison to Saturday nights entertainment it came close, but alas, no cigar! (Do you see what I did there? No cigar? Pink Cigar? Oooh please yourselves).

My dears, you'll have to excuse my overloading of this blog post with an abundance of photographs, but I just couldn't make my mind up. So if you have enough free time on your hands, trawl through 'em, make your own mind up, then nick, nab & snaffle any that take your Sid & Nancy.

When Saturday night finally arrived, the bread knife & me were buzzing with anticipation at the thought of catching these boys again, so we got down to the Enterprize at about 8ish & indulged ourselves in the odd libation prior to their taking to the boards.
However things were not exactly as they seemed. Pink Cigar were thoroughly noticeable by their abscence & Madame Tightpocket & myself were beginning to sweat like a fat lass overdosing on chips. For t'would have been a sin & a shame to have missed them on two consecutive evenings.
Thankfully our fears were unfounded, for the boys from the Cigar turned up fashionably late in a flourish of hair, leopardskin pants & with singer Sharkie trying to convince anyone who would listen, how his new rubber strides enhanced his, for the want of a better way of putting it, his prospects.

Having done a little bit of homework on these boys since we first caught 'em, I found out they'd played with former London Cowboys sub-legend Steve Dior, & I have to say, you can tell how the influence has rubbed off. Though these fellas seem to have taken it to another level.
For dear reader, do not be fooled, though they may only be a young band, they play with a maturity far, far in advance of their tender years.
It only took a few bars of their first song to make us realise that our whole trip had been worthwhile. The name of the song does escape me, they told me after the show, but didn't take into account, my chimpanzee like attention to detail.

Though the whole upstairs concert area was sparseley populated & can only be deemed as 'a bit of a toilet', the boys from the Cigar gave one hell of a show, tighter than a gnats chuff & with a degree of professionalism that is second to none. They lurched & crashed from one classic to another. But dear people of London, wherefore art thou?

For it does appear that you have become a little too 'fat on the hog' where the boys from the 'huge pink stogie' are concerned. In my experience it would be deemed wise to make the most of this band while you can. Whereupon it is a huge military undertaking for Madame Tightpocket & myself to attend such a soiree; I fear it is a mere tube journey for your goodselves. In short, 'you don't know you're bleedin born'.
Please don't come crying to your old mate Flash Tightpocket when they've absconded to the West Indies to record their bloated rock opera & their gigs are no longer commonplace.

For make no bones my dears, they are destined for the heights. You see, your old mate Flash Tightpocket has form where things like this are concerned. I can pick out a winner from miles away. Now do yourselves a monster favour & book a date in your diary. On the 10th of September, the boys from the Cigar will be playing Esquires in Bedford With none other than the Heavy Metal Kids. Promising to be one hell of an evening.