Right. A quick check. Is this writer's muse here? She is. Engaging creativity mode.
Is that a Fender twin Reverb I hear? Is it getting a royal pounding? Yes it is, as The Pharisees are on stage blasting out no nonsense missiles built back in the early days of rock 'n' roll. Yelping, anguished vocals swerve between pounding drums and the thundering bass guitar. Like the man said, it's only rock 'n' roll but I like it, like it. Yes I do.
Staying in much the same vein are The Fnords. Lead singer Sarah rasps out the lyrics like she had a Lita Ford fixation while using her guitar as punctuation. Or maybe for a time travelling audition for the Surfaris. You get the picture. This band is loud and they don't do subtle but they make a refreshing change from the posturing haircuts that threaten our ears these days.
The Retrofrets. Here's a surprise. Last seen but a couple of months ago when they royally failed to impress, tonight they seemed a different band. Admittedly they had an extremely liberal approach to the appropriation of guitar riffs but what a deranged powerhouse of a show they put on. The pint sized lead singer spent more time on the tables than a lap dancer drumming up demand for private dances and even managed to throw in a glass smashing finale. You can't argue with that for entertainment.
Alkotron did appear a bit stunned and following the shining stars of self destruction just wasn't an easy task. There's no doubt they were a tight band but they suffered from too many influences. A bit of rock, a bit of ska, a bit of the blues and so on. Certainly very proficient musicians, they nonetheless could have done with a good front man if they were to do battle with The Retrofrets.
Writing is easy when you have a muse. And a drink. And something to write about. There was certainly something to write about tonight.