Two reviews for the price of one! We’ve let a guest reviewer add words and thoughts to this one in the shape and form of our old Scene and Heard mate Martin Sheehan. First on the page though is regular reviewer Johnny Reay’s take on it:
Johnny: What a night that was. We at The Last Stop Sounds took immense pleasure in putting these bands on.
Spam Javelin kicked off proceedings with their usual blistering pace, in ya face, angsty puck rock noise. Mr Crud smashing ya eardums with his anti political "poetry" at a searing rate. usual great set. cheers.
Up next, a band I’ve not seen before in POISONED ELECTRICK HEAD Trippy punk, rocky, folky rock sound with the stage presence to match, superb musical prowess, crowd going ballistic for more.
Wrapping up the evening's soiree, The Gentle Scars, first saw these about 15 ish years ago, exceptional outfit, throwing out melodic rock, again, great stage presence from all in the band.
Outpost Liverpool was bursting at the seems for this one and no wonder, each band giving their all, for a crowd that demanded the best, and got it. cheers to you all for making it, its what makes doin this all worthwhile. usual thanks to bar staff and of course to Ian for his sound wizadry. a jolly good evening indeed
After Johnnys direct to the point take on it all, our guest reviewer Martin has a more esoteric version of events, as is his wont…
Martin: I think all these Covid shenanigans finally got to me. I had the craziest of dreams last night. I was in Outpost for a Last Stop Sounds gig they’d organised under the banner of ‘Funhouse’. Yet, this was not any ordinary gig, this was a dream gig after all.
First up, order some vegan pizza, (Outpost have a wonderful selection) and the pizza’s are vital in dreams like this, then it was time to listen to the band’s. Now this is how I know it was a dream.
First up, were the incredible Spam Javelin. Their first gig of 2022 and coming after the release of their magnificent “Point to the dolly” EP, the band began the process of tearing into the very fabric of the space-time continuum where Outpost existed. This was sharp, powerful, intelligent and impassioned music, not just for the rebellious soul, but also for the wounded psyche of everyone experiencing the lockdown blues. This was honest music from genuine people that took the last nails from boarded up doors and minds and brought us out to dance and have fun again. I remembered!
The dream was going wonderfully well at this stage until I noticed the faces that stared at me through the rips in the world created by Spam Javelin’s set. Dark, ethereal and mischievous, they reached through the dream, like demons in pearls. The visionary PEH had manifested upon the stage.
Known for millennia across the globe by ancient peoples, and summoned in the secret, sacred ceremonies of the most nefarious and infernal practitioners of deep magic, (and once accidentally by the Banbury Women’s Knitting And Crochet Circle when an iced bun recipe went slightly askew), PEH, or as they’re known in English, POISONED ELECTRIC HEAD, created Magick live. With an historic back catalogue and ever evolving set of new songs, plus such a wide range of influences they infest your neural pathways with a kind of aural LSD. These aren’t just songs, they are like offerings of seemingly little journeys and it’s only when you return that the full impact of each epic quest is revealed.
They are cosmically good, but not in a burnt out, tripped out parody of a hippy way. PEH invite you to trip IN to what they offer, which is always, top quality music, incredible entertainment, and deeper understanding, wrapped in a beautifully crafted and fancily dressed self effacing joy that lifts the crowd into almost ecstatic rapture....
Then they are gone like mystical smoke prematurely meeting an air vent. Darkness returns to my dream, and that darkness carries me in its languid oily arms, deep into somewhere that feels dangerous, feels dirty, cloying, oppressive and much too close for comfort, and the that oily malcontent begins to take form and find a salubrious liquidness as it transforms into The Gentle Scars. Just as you feel you’re about to drop into a rancid den of iniquity, with hidden tongues and soft sweaty fingers, we are swept away by the The Gentle Scars as they guide us through the squalid underbelly of life. Their music throbs like swingers at the church fete, but this is a redemptive sleaze, a celebration of getting down and dirty with a twinkle in the eye. Steve like a poet warrior striding forward into the crowd to open up the senses to the glories of life.
The last time I experienced The Gentle Scars was around two and a half years ago and much has changed, including their sound. It used to be more centered around dragging you into the dark side of Rock & Roll, onto the streets and into the gutter, but now, it has a new layer, one that lifts you up from the lowest places letting you ride the bohemian debauchery of excess with a panache and a lightness with a sense of feeling alive, not just being alive though, a willingness to really live as fully as possible in these times.... Hallelujah!
It wasn’t a dream!!!! This happened.... What an incredible night organised by Last Stop Sounds. Made with a clarity of sound by Ian, Sound Wizard extraordinaire, producing magic to give each band as perfect a presentation of themselves as possible. Thanks to the crowd, old friends and new who fully embraced this level of quality on show. This was a beautiful gig, with three top bands sharing a stage and showing what DIY and local scene music can do and achieve.
Words by The Ghost Of Some Bloke
Words: Johnny Reay/Martin Sheehan, Photos: Johnny Reay/Adrian Wharton/Richie Yates
Links:
The Gentle Scars
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegentlescars
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/the-gentle-scars
Poisoned Electrick Head
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100048477325402
Spam Javelin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spamjavelinuk
Bandcamp: https://spamjavelin.bandcamp.com/