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| TSAR
ZICO CHAIN LITTLE CIVIC Wolverhampton June 9th 2005 £7.00 After hearing their debut 45 ‘On A Noose’ and Toddy in Dorset telling me I should get my arse to one of their gigs. I was curious to see what all the hype was about. The Towers Of London who are rapidly making a name for themselves in the UK punk rock circuit were on their second and biggest tour this year. They were hitting Wolverhampton again within 6 months. Having missed em earlier this year due to being skint and with camera in hand, a second chance wasn’t to be missed. No arrests, criminal damage or arm wrestling with bouncers so far on this tour, but they still got another 12 dates to go promoting their latest single ‘Fuck It All’ (released on June 29th). The single continues with their obsession for raucous high octane punk rock anthems. But I think it’s a safe bet they ain’t gonna soil the top 30 like they did with the previous 45. Especially with such a catchy song title. But word is spreading and this tour has certainly bought out the curious and hungry for something new and raw, including a couple of punk vets like me and Kev who’s now also a confirmed fan. Once we get our tickets in the downstairs bar we pass some of the Towers who were spotted lurking around outside before we came in. They looked like a cross between Spinal Tap and Slaughter And The Dogs circa ‘78. I’m sure they’d love these fuckers in LA! But I still ain’t totally convinced they ain't gonna deliver some overblown heavy metal groove, we shall see. As we head off upstairs and order a pint in the poxy bar by the t-shirt stand, the first band of the evening are already making a noise on stage. Zico Chain who in case anyone ain’t heard, is probably the best Nirvana tribute you’re likely to see, this side of Courtney’s boudoir. The lead singer has the look, the dirty blonde matted hair, ripped jeans and that strangled hoarse vocal down to a tee. The only clue this trio ain’t a tribute is Kurt #2’s playing bass instead of guitar, and they’re banging out all their own numbers. But you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise as their hard hitting dirty grunge sound is a fuckin spit! This is how I’d imagine early Nirvana ('Bleach' era) to have sound like when they were littering the North West Pacific toilets over 15 years ago. Big beefy distorted guitars reverberate out the speakers as the lead singer snarls through his fringe in that legendary drawl. And if you’re into loud, heavy tunes this has gotta be pretty agreeable for an opening act. However you just can’t help thinking they’re too much like Kurt and the boys to be credible in their own right. Now if they’d have done ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ as an encore I’m sure the crowd would’ve turned into a heads down rocking wave of motion, instead of the laid-back applause they were given. Tonight’s crowd in case you were wondering were a mixture of teen punks, students and a mainly straight mid twenties set. It was a healthy turnout, although my ticket was only number 57, the venue seemed about half full and not bad considering it had zilch local press. So as the Lithium breed rip out their final numbers. I must own up to some Teerrritorial Pissing of my own. And headed down to the nearby Giffard Arms pub for a change in scenery and cheaper lager. The plan was to get back in time to catch the last half of the next bands set, but as luck would have it we were slightly late. When we did get back LA outfit Tsar were ringing the very last note from their last song and were off into the darkness before you could utter Carlsberg! So I asked one punter what were his impressions? And he told me they had a singer who looked like a young Lou Reed! Which made me think I’d missed something of interest here? If you were as curious as me you can check out their ‘Band, Girls, Money’ video on their site http://www.tsar.net/ which ain't nothing like Lou but is a pretty good quirky poppy number. It was a ten minute wait while roadies set up the Marshall Amplification system to the TOL full requirements. As they did, an air of anticipation grew in the crowd who were bunched up against the barriers awaiting the new Uxbridge messiahs. And on they traipsed like ill intentioned hoodlums bearing slogans on their vests that read such noxious statements as ‘drink fight fuck’ or ‘im not going anywhere’. First impressions were a cross between prototype Manic Street Preachers and the New York Dolls. Tight jeans and baseball boots were de rigueur. For image alone they look the part but how were they gonna sound was the question on everyone’s lips. Well we shouldn’t have had any misconceptions coz once they ripped out the first few chords you knew they were gonna be good. I'm sure the PA must’ve been cranked up a few notches by now coz you could feel the power propelling out the speakers into your face. The Towers Of London do sound tight anbd sharp, exactly like they do on record with those huge beefy power chords let loose, magnetic stage presence and enough tunes to riddle their soon come debut album with bullet holes. Lead singer Donny ain’t no Osmond. He comes straight from the showman school of punk singers such as a young Jimmy Pursey with peroxide hair. Same stage antics and badly behaved presence continuosly staring into the audiences faces awaiting confrontation. He‘s got a cocky disposition thats for sure but that only adds to the intrigue. He lets you knew he’s here to do some damage of some kind. Of course when they kick out the anthems that have an almost Pistols snottyness , you can’t help but be impressed. ‘On A Noose’, ’I Loose It’ and ‘Fuck it All’ got the best response. They even slow it down in the middle of the set for a sluggish track which I didn’t catch the name of, but it left a good impression. It confirmed they know how sustain some edgy tension along side the full on heads down mode. They finished with a really good cover of ‘Pretty Vacant which by the bands own account is the first time they’ve ever played it live. As Donny started looking bored and toyed with the idea of pulling down one of the monitors suspended off the ceiling any time now, the band quickly ended their set and headed off into the dressing room. Which was probably a good idea, as a night in Bilston Street police cells might not have been quite as much fun. The Towers Of London are definitely one of the best new British bands around at the moment. And if you fancy a healthy dose of wanton punk rock entertainment catch em fast before they fuck off and get swallowed up by LA and it's machinations! PETER DON’T CARE |
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