18/6/2008 Chop Suicide, Zen Motel, Bubblegum Screw & New Generation Superstars @ Bar Monsta

Subject	Chop Suicide, Zen Motel, Bubblegum Screw & New Generation Superstars @ Bar Monsta
PostedDate	6/18/2008
	A strong bill at Bar Monsta tonight and a good turnout in one Camden's more intimate venues. Bubblegum Screw kick the procedings off with a dose of New York flavoured rock 'n' roll. Imagine the New York Dolls, mixed in with the Ramones, plus a bit of Rolling Stones thrown in to give some British balance. Bassist Zuri Z is so DeeDee Ramone, while there is a distinct Johnny Thunders style to some of the six string work. Singer Mark struts and minces around the stage in a very Jagger/Johansen manner and you could definitely believe you were back in the 1970's. The ever dependable Zen Motel have a more distinctive character of their own, as well as some cracking songs. They manage to rock very hard, without being a metal band. They drip with snarling attitude, without being a punk band. They ooze sleaze and decadence from every pore, without being a cheesy cliched glam or sleaze band. This is a fiercely uncompromising and in your face band who really mean it.  They always give full-on performances and I never seem to get tired of seeing them. Next up are New Generation Superstars. The very little I have seen or heard of this band so far has not left much impression on me and I'm not expecting this to change tonight. However, I actually find them rather better than I was expecting. Nothing amazing, but they play well, have a bit of charisma and some half decent tunes - worth seeing again sometime I think. I'm not expecting too much from tonight's headline act to be honest. Chop Suicide are a Candian band who have risen from the ashes of Red Light Rippers. I saw that band play at this same venue last year - I wasn't very impressed with the song or two I'd heard on sampler CDs, but thought they were much better live. I'd only heard a couple of Chop Suicide songs ('Panic Attack' and 'Rockabilly Bitch') on Bubblegum Slut CDs before this show and they hadn't really made a massive impression on me, although I thought they were above average. Little did I know what was in store... Chop Suicide simply exploded into action at Bar Monsta! This band's singer Danyell is a human dynamo! Although small in stature, what she lacks in inches she more than makes up for with her stage presence. The minute she got on the stage she owned the room. In fact, the stage is far too small to confine her so she used the floor as well. And not just the floor either - Danyell's 'stage presence' extended to the bar as well! The rest of the guys make a a pretty good rock 'n' roll band too. It's certainly Danyell who makes the biggest impression though, and this is definitely one of the best fronted bands I've seen in the last year or so. This was one of the most exiting shows I've seen this year and I'll certainly be looking forward to seeing Chop Suicide again when they return for another UK tour later in the year...

PS: Bar Monsta was pretty cool for a couple of years or so while gigs like this were happening, but took a massive turn for the worse when it became the truly awful 'Camden Rock' venue.