18/8/2012 Lilygun & King Lizard @ The Peel

Subject	Lilygun & King Lizard @ The Peel
DateCreated	8/20/2012 2:43:00 PM
PostedDate	8/21/2012 8:59:00 AM
	So it's 32 degrees C in southern England today - the hottest day of the year. Out on the street people are wearing shorts and flip-flops. So what to I do? I put on a pair of heavy duty leather trousers and a heavy leather jacket. And moto-cross boots. And while other people are sitting outside pubs in beer gardens enjoying chilled drinks - I'm going to be indoors in a small grotty music venue watching bands. But guess what? In spite of my attire I don't get hot and sweaty - I stay nice and cool because I am riding a motorcycle at highly illegal speeds and when I arrive at the venue it is air-conditioned. OK - I know I'm not cool, but at least I manage to be in one respect in this heatwave. So why the road trip? Well with my new bike I don't need any excuse, but Lilygun have given me one anyway. I've never been to The Peel in Kingston before as it's not that quick or easy to get to from Hertfordshire via public transport. I was expecting the usual small pub rock venue type of place - sticky carpet on the floors and everything covered in peeling black paint. To my surprise I found a recently redecorated venue - clean and tidy with everything painted white. And air-conditioned. Quite a good sound system too. Real ales on tap as well, although I couldn't partake 'cos I was on the bike - so Red Bull was the order of the day - but at least that would keep me awake on the motorway on the way home.... Lilygun turned in an excellent set of alt/Goth/Glam tunes and their music came across very well over a decent sound system - so much better sounding than their recent Barfly show, although the band played just as well in Camden. With everything painted white the room seemed very bright and didn't really give the right atmosphere for rock music, and and too my surprise I didn't find it helpful taking pictures either. That aside I found The Peel quite a nice little venue - I'm told it used to be much darker and dingier. Although the sound mix was quite good I didn't quite feel the decor and atmosphere really suited Lilygun's darker themes and slightly more Gothic outlook.  The crowd seemed to like what they were hearing though, and I noticed Niro the headline band's 'guitar hero' checking out the playing of Lilygun's James Ford with great interest and apparently liking what he saw and heard. The intriguing Anna-Christina has assembled a band of good players around her to put her music across - with powerful and dynamic drumming from Belle and some very fluid bass playing from Rachel Stamp's D.R.P. (helping the band out on their current run of gigs and contributing some bass to the forthcoming album) Lilygun's music draws you in. Anna-Christina performs with heartfelt passion and appears totally lost in the music - one of those musicians who gives the impression she totally lives for that all too brief time on stage. I did feel sorry for her as I think she was rather uneasy at having to perform in front of the headline band's less than subtle backdrop - later saying that's not what she's about at all. Sometimes you see a band who play their music with total conviction and belief in what they are doing - Lilygun is one of those bands, and it's good to see things are finally starting to happen for them with some good press and a bit of airplay. All too soon Lilygun's set is over - always leave 'em wanting more they say. The probem is that many of the band's songs are quite long, and consequently one or two of their best songs have to be left out of half hour support slots. So onto the headliners. King Lizard haven't changed much (apart from their rhythm section) over the last few years, but to be fair - why should they? These London sleazebags might be one of the least original bands around, but they are good enough at what they do if you like that sort of thing and they have a loyal following. They have improved a bit and added a bit more depth to their set with the odd ballad, and singer Flash has definitely improved his vocals and cut down on the pies - even if he still can't make up his mind to be Axl Neil or Vince Rose? Guitarist Niro is quite a showman, but has the playing ability to back it up. I think his ego might have grown a little, but certainly not to Mick Priestly standards! It's been a good night, and certainly worth the trip south of the river. And I don't even need those Red Bulls to keep me awake of the ride home - it might be one of the hottest nights of the year, but being buffeted by the wind and clinging on at less than sensible speeds concentrates the mind somewhat, and I was sitting in a nice cool refreshing breeze. Slightly more adventurous than staying in watching the crap on TV on a Saturday night I think.