The Adicts
Right, let’s get the negative stuff outta the way first, shall we? Theatre of Hate were supposed to be playing an hour set as support tonight but, for reasons unknown to me (at least) they have been pulled from the bill and there is no support. Given that I am (almost) as keen to see ToH as I am to see the Adicts – and I know at least one person who has turned up purely for ToH – this is disappointing. Ah well, ToH will be here later in the year so all is not lost on that front. All of this means that the Adicts will have to do more than most to win me over tonight.
The band have been around for over forty years – on and off - and still feature three of the original line-up in vocalist Monkey, Pete Dee on guitar and drummer Kid Dee. Despite that longevity, to my embarrassment I only discovered the band in the last couple of years or so. Having formed just down the road in Ipswich, there are audience members here who have been following the band since the early days. Despite my go-on-then-impress-me attitude at the outset, I soon understand that dedication.
Running through twenty one songs in 80 or so minutes, the Adicts deliver a set of camped-up bubblegum pop-punk. The show takes as much inspiration from cabaret, music-hall and 70s glam as it does from the gobbing-and-pogo brigade. The songs aren’t always to my tastes but, when everything comes together, it is like Alice Cooper fronting the Dickies playing songs written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn in their 70s heyday. I mean, how can you argue with the likes of opener Let’s Go, Horrorshow or Who Spilt My Beer?
There is theatricality at work here that a fair few bands could learn from. As is customary, Monkey appears in his best Joker make-up, whilst the rest of the band look like Droogs from A Clockwork Orange. Monkey chucks playing cards to the audience during Joker In The Pack. Toilet rolls are liberally tossed around during Chinese Takeaway, a song so dumb that it is utter genius. A couple of dozen beach balls appear towards the end of the set. Soft toys are thrown and bracelets are flicked into the crowd. Ticker tape and confetti make frequent appearances before the band leaves the stage to the strains of Bring Me Sunshine.
Like I said, musically it isn’t always my thing. I could do without Bad Boy or the cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone, popular as they are with those around me and there is no Steamroller. That said, the aforementioned Chinese Takeaway, Crazy (complete with bursts of Singing In The Rain and Be-Bop-A-Lula) and Viva La Revolution more than compensate.
Yeah, this woulda been better had ToH played but the Adicts played a cracker and I have had a cracker of an evening.
