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Either it's a double booking by the Sean Penn / Mark Lamarr Hairstylists and the Magnum P.I. Shirt Appreciation Society, or there's a rockabilly gig in town ...
Having queued around two sides of Brixton Academy, amongst an impressive, nay, fearsome, array of variations on a them of quiff, and encountering one of my fellow MSc students staffing the sound recording truck, I eventually made it into the venue. Support were from The Cathouse Creepers, another classicly styled rockabilly three-piece, who played some fine tunes, and had a bassist who appeared to be attempting to demonstrate the sheer number of positions in which an upright bass can be played, from the classic lying on the floor, through the adventurous "standing on the bass", to the novel "resting it on it's head". And then they thanked the Cats for agreeing to close for them that evening. After some more standing around, the Stray Cats banner slid down from the proscenium, and the three of them came out. Slim Jim Phantom looks much the same as ever, and still eschews the support of a stool, drumming standing up as usual, with a minimalist kit of snare, bass, and cymbal. Occasionally a man in a braided coat and cap would come on with a tom and an additional cymbal or two, but these were usually only on for one song at a time. Lou Rocker is wielding an upright bass painted in silver glitter metallic paint, and also seems in fine shape. Mr Setzer, however, has hit that point which seems to afflict many old rock'n'rollers, and was looking like a bizarre combination of Les Dennis and a blonde Gary Glitter, having thickened somewhat around the middle since the old days. Then again, this was their 25th anniversary tour ...
They opened with Rumble inBrighton Brixton, which is also going to be the title of the DVD recorded tonight. Stray Cat Strut came in third on the setlist, and most of the classics made an appearance, including an almost double-tempo version of the not entirely slow Fishnet Stockings. Last two songs of the set were "something you may have heard before, from 1980 ...", Runaway Boys, and Rock This Town. The band's departure from the stage was followed by a fine demonstrate of rhythmic clapping, which, unusually, managed to retain coherence and tempo, which might say something about rock'n'roll fans and their ability to keep time. A return to the stage in some particularly interesting teddy boy drape jackets was followed by Elvis's That's Alright Mama, and another couple of classic tracks, then another departure, and a final revisit to the stage for Sexy And Seventeen and Too Hip, Gotta Go! And then they did. And so did I.
Having queued around two sides of Brixton Academy, amongst an impressive, nay, fearsome, array of variations on a them of quiff, and encountering one of my fellow MSc students staffing the sound recording truck, I eventually made it into the venue. Support were from The Cathouse Creepers, another classicly styled rockabilly three-piece, who played some fine tunes, and had a bassist who appeared to be attempting to demonstrate the sheer number of positions in which an upright bass can be played, from the classic lying on the floor, through the adventurous "standing on the bass", to the novel "resting it on it's head". And then they thanked the Cats for agreeing to close for them that evening. After some more standing around, the Stray Cats banner slid down from the proscenium, and the three of them came out. Slim Jim Phantom looks much the same as ever, and still eschews the support of a stool, drumming standing up as usual, with a minimalist kit of snare, bass, and cymbal. Occasionally a man in a braided coat and cap would come on with a tom and an additional cymbal or two, but these were usually only on for one song at a time. Lou Rocker is wielding an upright bass painted in silver glitter metallic paint, and also seems in fine shape. Mr Setzer, however, has hit that point which seems to afflict many old rock'n'rollers, and was looking like a bizarre combination of Les Dennis and a blonde Gary Glitter, having thickened somewhat around the middle since the old days. Then again, this was their 25th anniversary tour ...
They opened with Rumble in