Guana Batz, Graveyard Johnnys & Stage Frite
An early nite but it’s a cracker.
It’s Friday and it is down to the Waterfront Studio for an (early) evening of psychobilly, a genre that, to be frank, I don’t listen to much and that I know next to nowt about. That said, I have always enjoyed it when I have caught one of its proponents playing live and I do have admiration for the aesthetic of its followers.
First up it’s STAGE FRITE, self proclaimed “swanabilly psycho switch blade rock n roll from the good ol’ broads of Norfolk”. Active from the mid-80s until the early ‘90s and reanimated in the 20-teens, the band deliver everything expected from a psychobilly band: slapping upright bass, rattling drums and sped-up rockabilly guitar. Zines’ guitarist Joe adds an occasional dash of metal riffage to the sound. To be honest, the Frite aren’t great but their set is decent, good fun and anyone heading to the Waterfront to see The Meteors in a couple of weeks should get down early to check out Stage Frite.
On paper, GRAVEYARD JOHNNYS’ Joe Grogan (vox and double bass) and Callum Houston (hollow body guitar) should be fronting the arch-typical psychobilly band but there is more to this band than that. For starters, drummer Thomas E Lord - from a distance at least - could pass for Sleadord Mods’ Andrew Fearn and the band’s influences are far wider. Summoning the audience forward to fill the previously almost empty dance floor, the Johnnys are both intriguing and thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining. Heavier and faster than what has come before, there are touches of Mike Patton to the vox and Jack White in the guitar playing and song-writing. There are also hints of The Mescaleros, Copperhead Road-era Steve Earle, prime Alarm and Dropkick Murphys to make a sound that I can only describe as Celtic-folk-punk-country-garage-rock ‘n’ roll. And it is very, VERY good indeedy.
GUANA BATZ are legends of their scene. Nothing I can say will change that, nor would I expect it to. Extravagantly tattooed vocalist Pip Hancox is an absolute live wire. Even on the instrumentals or when (more then decent) guitarist Stuart Osborne takes vocals, Hancox is dancing his ass off. Bar a couple of moments late in the set when his face cracks, Paul "Choppy" Lambourne is an unsmiling assassin on bass. Drummer Jared Hren is the missing link between John Bonham and Animal from the Muppets. I may not be that familiar with either the genre in general, or Guana Batz in particular, but there are some tunes that I recognise, like Joe 90, Radio Sweetheart, a cracking cover of Eddie Cochran’s My Way and the bloody immense final encore of signature tune King Rat.
Away from the music, the pit is almost certainly the biggest, compared to the number of people in it, that I have ever seen. And a couple of youngsters aside, it is probably one of the oldest too. Still, whilst I could have done without the size 11s mashing one of my feet at one point, it is entertaining to watch, pretty good natured and, outside of the wrecking in the pit, there’s some good moves being busted out.
I probably won’t listen to the openers or headliners at home, I may well try to acquire some of Graveyard Johnny’s recorded works but I will be more than happy to see all three bands again live.
And kudos to Karl of ꓘK Concerts/Concerts & Tours for bringing another great bill to the fine city.
