Gig Review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Psycho Comedy, Torture Desert Spiders, Razzmatazz Band

Gig Review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Psycho Comedy, Torture and the Desert Spiders and The Razzmatazz Band at District Liverpool - 21 August 2022

The Razzmatazz Band are a drummer down before they even start and then the singer is delayed so the rest of the band make the best of it all and very professionally begin their set. And they sound well, the drummer hits a cajon as best as his injured arm will allow and the band cover the vocals and it sounds good. Half way through the singer makes it on stage and after a brief apology (sometimes things happen but it was considerate to the audience that he thought an apology appropriate - extra stars there), throws his voice into the mix providing an extra layer to their sound.

I’ve seen Torture and the Desert Spiders in a more stripped down version than tonight, drums, bass and guitar and thought they shone. Now they have extra members of the squad on the stage including some excellent saxophone playing and their sound swells from the stripped down essentials to a more rounded version of the band. It’s the voice that propels it all though, a voice capable of jumping through vocal hoops, performing musical backflips and not even breaking sweat. This atop the some excellent bass and drum rhythm section thats both intelligent and fiery, and perfectly in synch with each other produces a powerful sounding music machine.

Psycho Comedy are stars really. It’s hard to say which end of the rock/indie/punk any genre you care to name spectrum they fit into as the really are just themselves. I could name anyone from The Fall to the Stooges and all manner in between but they are unique and it grabs the audiences attention from the off. The songs cascade from the stage, each one different and progressing musically throughout, constant creativity being displayed. Aa band you feel that if locked in a recording studio for a week to come up with an album would easily come up with four albums of completely diverse but quality material.

Frankie and the Witch Fingers evoke and old school psychedelic rock, the type of rock that can jumps from gargantuan riffs to extended prog pieces. Where shifts in time signatures are as important as the melodies and the can jump from being pulverising to intricate in the blink of an eye. Tonight its spell binding and the large crowd jump up and down to every moment. There’s garage moments that evoke Thee Oh Sees but they also seem to have sections that remind me of suddenly of the Uriah Heap. Combine this with sheer musicianship and their set veers happily from one musical moment to the next.