XOYO in Shoreditch is a new venue to me, but turns out to be really easy to get to as it's virtually a stone's throw from the Cowper Street entrance at Old Street station. This is a good bill and a show I've been looking forward to for a while, but almost at the last minute it nearly didn't happen...
I was worried about being late and arrived at XOYO around the time the first band was due to hit the stage, but the doors weren't even open and there were a load of people hanging around outside waiting to get in. Via social media I discovered that the toilets were flooded and they could let anyone into the venue until the problem had been sorted. Apparently they were working on it, but I discovered some of my friends were in a pub round the corner so I decided to join them instead of hanging around outside the venue for who knows how long? Better to wait in comfort with a beer or two - beer which would no doubt be far better quality and far cheaper than anything available in the venue... This worked out rather well as one of my friends had a 'direct line' to what was going on in the venue as her boyfriend was playing in one of the bands - so we effectively got 'real time' updates on the venue toilet/flooding situation.
At one point it was looking as though the entire show might be cancelled. In fact the club night after the show did get cancelled, but at least that gave more time for the bands to go on later if they got the toilets fixed. Fortunately this is exactly what happened - no, the bands didn't have to fix the toilets themselves but somebody else did. And having a direct line to a band member already in the venue meant we knew when the show was just about to start so could stay in the pub until then instead of standing in a queue.
Fortunately the flooded bogs were eventually sorted out and the show could go ahead. So much later than planned the venue opened it's doors and let the mob outside in. And knowing the first band were finally about to hit the stage I left the pub having had time for about 3 pints. Unfortunately the gents toilet in the venue had changed into a unisex one - I don't know if this is because it was the ladies toilet that flooded and was now closed or the gents had already been changed to unisex, but there was queing to get in and I could see that many people of both sexes were very uncomfortable with the situation. Hopefully once the plumbing is fixed properly normal service will be resumed 'cos unisex toilets really are shit (no pun intended) and I'm sure most people hate them - they are certainly bad at the Black Heart and Islington Assembly Hall.
It seems that one of the UK's best but most dysfunctional bands have recently split up. Again. Possibly for the final time. But a tour has been put together featuring 3 bands - all of which feature ex-members of that band. Regular readers will probably have already guessed that I'm talking about The Wildhearts
Grand Theft Audio surprised everyone a couple of years ago by announcing they were reforming after 17 years and making a brand new album. I saw them a few times back in the day at places like The Garage and The Barfly and they were great fun! They released the album Blame Everyone along with some singles and got airplay on stations like the much missed Xfm. Then their record company went bust the band split up and all went quiet... Until this year. Original guitarist ex-3 Colours Red Chris McCormack was not involved when the band reformed, and original bassist and producer Ralph Jezzard parted ways with the band before the new album was recorded. This left the core of ex-Real TV frontman Jay Butler and Wildhearts drummer Ritch Battersby to make the new album. Prior to it's release new single 'Ruin Your Youth' announced the band's return, followed by another single 'Ici mon decree'. The band's second album Pass Me The Conch has been released to coincide with the band doing an actual tour! The new album is actually rather good - different from the first one, but still recognisably the same band - most of the time anyway. Grand Theft Audio were always great fun as a live act - and guess what? They still are. The chemistry of the band may have changed somewhat - along with half the band, but if anything the band are even more fun than before!
The new boys: Ben Marsden - ex-The Main Grains with ex-Wildheart Danny McCormack and currently in The Spangles and the Warner E. Hodges Band, and Rob Lane AKA Laney74 - who has played with Bullet Boys, Ryan Hamilton & The Traitors, DIP, Teenage Casket Company, and even Let Loose! Plus many more...
I arrive in the venue from the pub just as opening act Grand Theft Audio hit the stage. None of the 3 bands on the bill are well known outside of this scene, but I can tell you that all the naysayers who say the live music scene is now dead are
talking out of their arse - the place is packed!
Live music is very much
back for those music fans who actually
want to go out and have a good time. The bands have been dying to get back out there playing, and we are more than ready to welcome them back! Not just single gigs, but full tours are happening again - and tonight's show is part of a UK tour by these 3 bands. And they and the fans are
loving it! The atmosphere in the room tonight is electric - the live music fans have been gagging for nights like this, and tonight it's all going off! Grand Theft Audio are on fire tonight and frontman Jay seems to have more pent-up energy than ever. That's if you can even
see him? I spend most of the band's set trying to work out where he is - because although I can hear him I certainly can't see him as he spends hardly
any of the time actually on the stage! Jay is very much a man who believes in taking his performance to the the people. Suddenly he appears - on the bar!
Note the lack of punters at the bar buying drinks even though the venue is full - I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why that is...
Next time I see Jay he's on the other side of the room - anywhere except on the actual stage. He certainly believes in keeping the audience on their toes.
Although to be fair he does actually spent some time on the stage.
Personally I think most the best songs are from the band's first album, but the band have a new album to promote and we get the best songs from the new one and well as the pick of the finest from the first album - so we get the best of both and it's pretty good.
Interestingly, a large proportion of the crowd seem to already know the songs from the brand new album even though they have barely had a chance to get hold of it - but they are singing along and well into the new stuff as well.
This tour seems to have gone extremely well - for Grand Theft Audio in particular who seem quite taken aback at how well they have been received. I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of them...
Next we go from a band featuring the Wildhearts longest serving drummer to a man who served the Wildhearts for one album and tour followed after a break by a covers album and tour before another album and tour of original songs.
Scott Sorry was previously a member of
Amen and
Brides of Destruction. He has now put a pretty good solo band together.
I'm not very familiar with Scott's solo stuff or his old band band Sorry & The Sinatras, but he does a great version of 'People Who Died' by the Jim Carroll Band.
Unusually, although all the band are good musicians the best
performer is the bass player - top quality 'rock star' chops and shape throwing.
After having had bands featuring Wildhearts rhythm section players we now get a set from a Wildhearts guitar player.
Regular and long term readers may recognise a couple of faces from
CJ Wildheart's band - Ben Marsden was on stage earlier this evening playing guitar in Grand Theft Audio, and Lee Wray is better known from playing bass in his own band
Zen Motel as well as his previous band
Johnny Zhivago. Lee was also in CJ & The Satellites and even went on tour to China with them - which must have been an interesting experience!
CJ seems to be having a great time on this tour! He has said that the atmosphere and inter-band camaraderie is terrific and so much better than the often dysfunctional tourbus vibe on his last tour in the Wildhearts. The rest of his band seem to be really enjoying themselves too.
There is no need to rely on playing Wildhearts classics as CJ now has a few solo albums under his belt so has plenty of heavy and tuneful material of his own.
CJ and his band turn in a cracking set of bouncy pop/punk/rock songs and the atmosphere in the room is terrific!
Oh, and CJ just had to use his new oil can guitar as well.
CJ's set was riff laden, heavy, and melodic. It went down a storm with the crowd at this sold out show - all those who say that the live music scene is now dead really need to get out more instead of swallowing what the media ('Social' included) are telling them - get out there and see for yourselves like all these people.
Final set of the night is the 'All Star' band with members of all tonight's acts playing a mixture of all the bands they have been involved with.
What a
great night! In spite of all the earlier problems with the venue's plumbing and the show
very nearly not happening at all this has turned out to be one of the very best gigs of 2022!
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