The Buzzcocks deliver their first two albums back to back on this 30 year
'Another Bites' tour. And there's no excuse for me or you to not
witness the event and I'm glad i did!
I missed the support set from the Lurkers due to unexpected
belligerence in the Tap during a pre gig drink. But could you really
blame me with no Howard Wall or Pete Stride to deliver their
classic set of British Ramones anthems? I've seen the Lurkers in
most of their line-ups over the past 30 years and Arturo Bassick
might be the best all round Lurker to interview or have a drink with,
but his singing of the old numbers is tantamount to karaoke of the
good times gone bad!
Talking of which you can tell its a sign of the times tonight when the middle aged ex
punks out number the younger scruffy snot rockets, by a hundred to one! Economic
gloom or just Pete Shelley's camp nasal whine can't seem to prize them away from
their brew and roll ups on a cold winters Thursday night? However with number 676
on my ticket (bought three days previously) its a surprisingly BIG turnout in this
sterile Wulfrun venue. The majority are here for the numbers they grew up with and
even pogoed to. Although their wasn't much of that going on tonight, more of a
revered misty eyed polite appreciation. I first saw the Buzzcocks in 1979 at
Birmingham's Odeon on the 'A Different Kind Of Tension' tour wit Subway Sect in
support. In those days is was more of a Buzz and a cock as the well aimed goblets
of spit reigned down across the stage and the band looked like REAL pop stars.
Tonight however everything is more respectful and reverent, although they still
managed to fluff the intro to 'Boredom' before restarting it with smiles on their faces
and cheers from the crowd. The Buzzcocks may not be the most exciting band to
watch, but when your hearing a great no holds barred track for track live salvo of
the first album with little or no introduction, who needs a stage show. 'Fast Cars',
'No Reply' kept the momentum up before changing gear for the emotionally charged
'You Tear Me Up'..."you bloody swine!" If that wasn't enough they then launch into
the decadent 'Love Battery' and the anthemic 'Sixteen'. The Buzzcocks are a real guitar
band. A band who prefer to let their music do the talking, which is no band thing when
your confronted with a pudgy Pete Shelley singing "You only want me because I'm so
young!" However joking aside 'I Don't Mind' has to be one of punks most fantastic pop
songs, complete with Diggles well timed "ahhhs". Diggle in spotty shirt and lanky Townsend choreography is for me, still the most authentic Buzzcock.
You can tell by the perpetual grin on his boat he loves playing live. And his over the top guitar hero posing is coz he loses himself in the whole event,
more so than just ego. Shelley on the other hand is more surly and concentrated on creating pop concoctions from his poison dwarf armory as he takes
up most of the spotlight. Diggle gets his reward with his most impressive song the haunting 'Autonomy' which features one of punks most memorable
guitar riffs. I never much cared for the mammoth 'Moving Away From The Pulsebeat' which followed and it was time I hit the bar, but you gotta take your
hat off to the drummer for pulling it off.
With the band back on stage after a brief break and amidst the feedback loop which rounded off the first album echoing around the auditorium we get
our first dose of 'Love Bites' which is a good album. But as someone once said "an uncomplicated encore" of the first. It did however contain the bands
biggest hit and the one number the crowd seemed really up for 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone you should't've?). This song epitomises Shelley's
most hauntingly romantic perspective. 'Nostalgia' suits tonight's theme perfectly as Shelley bats his eyelids and the guitars rage on. 'Love Bites' is an
album more technical in its playing which can get pretentious especially during instrumentals like 'Walking Distance', but it also burst out the brilliant
'E.S.P' which done wonders for our senses, so much so you can still hear ringing in your ears a long time after they left the stage. It also had the snotty
'Just Lust' which saw the band up a gear and move into the quirky fantasy pop we know them for. Gotta say though shortly after I lost interest as Diggle
gives us the acoustic but rough shod 'Love Is Lies' which im afraid does not sound any better 30 years later. You can almost see Pete Shelley cringe as
his fellow Buzzcock struggles to croon. They redeem themselves with 'Nothing Left' that has the quality of the band at their most experimental with well
timed dropouts and the ability to build up. But for 90 minutes was enough and handling plastic glasses was getting tiresome. Apparently they encored
with singles 'Orgasm Addict', 'What Do I Get'; 'Promises' and the derided 'Everybody's Happy Nowadays' and surprisingly Diggles 'Harmony In My Head'.
The tour is still going till the end of January in the UK so get yourself some Buzz...cock!
PETER DON'T CARE
'Another Bites' tour. And there's no excuse for me or you to not
witness the event and I'm glad i did!
I missed the support set from the Lurkers due to unexpected
belligerence in the Tap during a pre gig drink. But could you really
blame me with no Howard Wall or Pete Stride to deliver their
classic set of British Ramones anthems? I've seen the Lurkers in
most of their line-ups over the past 30 years and Arturo Bassick
might be the best all round Lurker to interview or have a drink with,
but his singing of the old numbers is tantamount to karaoke of the
good times gone bad!
Talking of which you can tell its a sign of the times tonight when the middle aged ex
punks out number the younger scruffy snot rockets, by a hundred to one! Economic
gloom or just Pete Shelley's camp nasal whine can't seem to prize them away from
their brew and roll ups on a cold winters Thursday night? However with number 676
on my ticket (bought three days previously) its a surprisingly BIG turnout in this
sterile Wulfrun venue. The majority are here for the numbers they grew up with and
even pogoed to. Although their wasn't much of that going on tonight, more of a
revered misty eyed polite appreciation. I first saw the Buzzcocks in 1979 at
Birmingham's Odeon on the 'A Different Kind Of Tension' tour wit Subway Sect in
support. In those days is was more of a Buzz and a cock as the well aimed goblets
of spit reigned down across the stage and the band looked like REAL pop stars.
Tonight however everything is more respectful and reverent, although they still
managed to fluff the intro to 'Boredom' before restarting it with smiles on their faces
and cheers from the crowd. The Buzzcocks may not be the most exciting band to
watch, but when your hearing a great no holds barred track for track live salvo of
the first album with little or no introduction, who needs a stage show. 'Fast Cars',
'No Reply' kept the momentum up before changing gear for the emotionally charged
'You Tear Me Up'..."you bloody swine!" If that wasn't enough they then launch into
the decadent 'Love Battery' and the anthemic 'Sixteen'. The Buzzcocks are a real guitar
band. A band who prefer to let their music do the talking, which is no band thing when
your confronted with a pudgy Pete Shelley singing "You only want me because I'm so
young!" However joking aside 'I Don't Mind' has to be one of punks most fantastic pop
songs, complete with Diggles well timed "ahhhs". Diggle in spotty shirt and lanky Townsend choreography is for me, still the most authentic Buzzcock.
You can tell by the perpetual grin on his boat he loves playing live. And his over the top guitar hero posing is coz he loses himself in the whole event,
more so than just ego. Shelley on the other hand is more surly and concentrated on creating pop concoctions from his poison dwarf armory as he takes
up most of the spotlight. Diggle gets his reward with his most impressive song the haunting 'Autonomy' which features one of punks most memorable
guitar riffs. I never much cared for the mammoth 'Moving Away From The Pulsebeat' which followed and it was time I hit the bar, but you gotta take your
hat off to the drummer for pulling it off.
With the band back on stage after a brief break and amidst the feedback loop which rounded off the first album echoing around the auditorium we get
our first dose of 'Love Bites' which is a good album. But as someone once said "an uncomplicated encore" of the first. It did however contain the bands
biggest hit and the one number the crowd seemed really up for 'Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone you should't've?). This song epitomises Shelley's
most hauntingly romantic perspective. 'Nostalgia' suits tonight's theme perfectly as Shelley bats his eyelids and the guitars rage on. 'Love Bites' is an
album more technical in its playing which can get pretentious especially during instrumentals like 'Walking Distance', but it also burst out the brilliant
'E.S.P' which done wonders for our senses, so much so you can still hear ringing in your ears a long time after they left the stage. It also had the snotty
'Just Lust' which saw the band up a gear and move into the quirky fantasy pop we know them for. Gotta say though shortly after I lost interest as Diggle
gives us the acoustic but rough shod 'Love Is Lies' which im afraid does not sound any better 30 years later. You can almost see Pete Shelley cringe as
his fellow Buzzcock struggles to croon. They redeem themselves with 'Nothing Left' that has the quality of the band at their most experimental with well
timed dropouts and the ability to build up. But for 90 minutes was enough and handling plastic glasses was getting tiresome. Apparently they encored
with singles 'Orgasm Addict', 'What Do I Get'; 'Promises' and the derided 'Everybody's Happy Nowadays' and surprisingly Diggles 'Harmony In My Head'.
The tour is still going till the end of January in the UK so get yourself some Buzz...cock!
PETER DON'T CARE
THE LURKERS
WULFRUN HALL, WOLVERHAMPTON, UK
January 22nd 2009
WULFRUN HALL, WOLVERHAMPTON, UK
January 22nd 2009
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