When a band of the quality of Metro Manila Aide open a gig there is either something seriously wrong or this is going to be one helluva line-up. Fortunately for Antipop the latter is true in this case. Rumour has it the line-up and stage times were picked out of a hat before soundcheck - one of the ingenious ideas Antipop Records have come with to stop people arriving at a set time and leaving when their favourite band has finished. The only time this gig was given was the door time. Be there at 7:30pm was the only instruction. It also helps to keep all the bands on an equal platform the aim being to avoid headliner and support bands. Metro Manila Aide rattle through a full on assault of a set that only breaks for air when the play world record debut album The Devils Handbook opener The Crunch. The crowd go wild in the mosh-pits and the whole set almost tops the giant bean bag fight that occurred prior to the gig.
Fraktures are next on and their unique sound wails around the room like a fiery dragon of classic punk generation brought up on TV static. The tireless and forceful drumming of Cheeky Mike lays the foundation of this greased up hair ball of a band the Seventies spat out. Anachronistic anarchists Fraktures define a slick sound that we haven’t heard for yonks. Got to love it. Ryan Clarke possesses more style than Viviane Westwood could handle.
When the going gets weird the weird turn pro. Famous last words from King of Freaks Hunter S. Thompson. The Dead Class regalia picks up where the good Doctor left off barging through tracks such as Mrs. Donkey, The Hitman, A Pulse And A Heartache and The Age Of Paranoia. The sense of hysteria reaches boiling point and things bubble over during Hanging Basket when ‘the thing’ on stage strips down to a G-string and starts jigging like North Korea just hit the red button. You had to be there but the pictures don’t lie.
And as The Drellas mount the podium to close the evening the venue is no less full than at the very start of the night. With such competition on the opening night of Liverpool SoundCity this gig is one of the success stories. Quality rounded off in a rampant outing from Liverpool’s own The Drellas. The diminutive Tommy Scott flanked by the forces of Masha Padzeirei and Phil Hartley on keys and bass respectively are backed by new drummer Allan Jones in his first live outing. The Drellas show how it’s done. Masha is in the crowd, Phil’s trademark scowls and Tommy’s unique sound that has been part of the music conscious for almost twenty years gel like araldite. The Drellas were never going to garner the mainstream accolade of Space, but that seems to be exactly the point. Shocking many but satisfying even more. Welcome to the sound of Antipop.
www.myspace.com/frakturestheband
