8/6/2006 Backyard Babies @ the Underworld

Subject	Backyard Babies @ the Underworld
PostedDate	6/8/2006 5:30:00 AM
	This was a gig I had to go to - especially as I managed to miss the band's last visit to London even though I think I've seen every London show they've played since ULU in 1998.  The Underworld was packed even for the support bands. The show had sold out some time in advance - so how come the management of the venue had only one of the two bars open?  This seems really stupid as not only did it take us punters ages to get served at the bar, but also the club could surely have taken a lot more money behind the bar if both bars were open - everybody wins! I caught part of Supagroup's set - they seemed pretty good in a manner not a million miles away from Tokyo Dragons, although they were scarcely original. Next were Trashlight Vision who were hardly any more memorable than last time I saw them - like the Murderdolls a case of style over content. As far as being a good band goes, I thought the previous act were noticeably better at letting the music do the talking. I closed my eyes and tried just listening to them - and thought 'They aren't actually very good at all'. I think the best thing about them was Acey Slade's 'I DON'T PLAY IN FUCKING SLIPKNOT' T-shirt! Backyard Babies were fantastic as usual - one of my favourite bands to see live.  Songs from all the band's previous albums were performed, with 'Total 13' and 'Making Enemies Is Good' being more heavily featured than the more recent 'Stockholm Syndrome' album. I was disappointed not to hear 'Bombed...' from 'Total 13' in particular as that was the song which started it all off for me the first time I heard it and I knew instantly that I had to see this band live. Songs from the new and strangely titled 'People Like People Like People Like Us' were heavily featured in the set as you would expect - and deservedly so. The title track, 'Blitzkrieg Loveshock', 'Dysfunctional Professional', and my favourite the AC/DC flavoured 'Cocksucker Blues' all got an airing - the latter being the best track on the album in my opinion. 'People...' is more of a rock 'n' roll album than the last three and the songs are well suited to playing live - it's arguably the band's best album since what most fans say is their 'classic' - 'Total 13'.  In the few listens I've had time for so far I'm inclined to agree.