They Came From The East....
The Defects
The Dollybyrds
SSSA
Secret society
The Black Box, Belfast
25th September 2010
Another night of free punkyesqe entertainment in the heart of Belfast at the 'Black Box' courtesy of Immortal
records supremo 'William Maxwell'. And I'd like to thank him for all his efforts on behalf of everyone in
attendance. Now let's get down and dirty with the story of a gig that
promised so much but delivered a little less than expected. The
ludicrous sight of Paul Rowan (SSSA) in a brassy blonde granny wig
plus his unfunny introduction in a faux English accent didn't really help
the first band on stage tonight.
I'd never heard of Secret Society before this show? But I don't think I'll be
rushing out to catch them live again in a hurry! Their mix of 'Police' style
cod reggae and Indie rock (though musically very tight and performed well)
really did nothing for me. Its not that they were bad, they just weren't my
thing.
SSSA were the biggest disappointment of the night for me. I was expecting
(as I was told) a set-list of 'Stage B' classics fleshed out with a few choice
covers, but what we actually got was a four song set that went slowly
downhill with each passing number. I got into a bit of a minor online spat
next day with an SSSA member over my less than enthusiastic but not nasty
personal opinion regarding their performance. And believe it or not
amongst some really pretentious patronising bullshit that he posted,
which pissed me off at the time (and I quote "we will not be pigeon
holed"). He also blamed other people in one communication for the
mis-matched selection of tunes they played here tonight !!! But any
wrong impressions or misconceptions I may have about SSSA are all
down to what I was told by this member of the band. So he's got no-one
to blame but himself for my critical point of view. As for that certain
members superior attitude when they've done nothing yet to back it up?
Someone needs to get a grip on the reality of the bands position in the
scheme of things. And yes I agree Stop Stop Start Again, are most
definitely NOT Stage B.
Enough said and thats the end of it, so its back to the SSSA show, the
Stage B classic 'Recall to Life' was a good start, sounding much
heavier than at their debut performance a few months back. Yeah, the
vocals were a bit ropey in places but in the lead singers defence it is a
very difficult high pitched song to sing live. The new song '??????' was
like some 80's slice of unfashionable crossover pop rock and it wasn't
that bad. Their cover of the Magazine evergreen 'Shot By Both Sides'
was so so and a bit rough here and there. But it was the ill informed
inclusion of a Sex Pistols/modern pop mash up cover which for me was the really big mistake. I
thought it was pretty bad and it shouldn't have made it out of the rehearsal room, never mind
("The Bollocks" - P.D.C.) on stage when they've got so many other great songs they could've/
should've chosen instead of that. Observing SSSA from the outside it looks to me rightly or
wrongly that Paul Rowan seems to be the main man now. The Stage B revival I was lead to
believe they were intended as, is now well and truly dead and buried as far as I could see. His
posing and preening combined with his 'Marc Bolan' pixie tiptoe dancing and a see though t-shirt
that he should have left in his wardrobe from 30 years ago looked so unflattering and out of
place on that stage. I'm not sure what to expect from SSSA anymore? If they want to be seen as
a new band thats fair enough, maybe I'm expecting too much because of the history involved.
Hopefully next time SSSA play live they'll manage a full set of whatever and blow me away.
Having said that I love 'Rowan & Maxwells' (wasn't there a cult sixties US tv show called
something like that? lol) dj sets. They spin some really cool retro tunes.
The Dollybyrds were the band of the night for me. They thrashed out a great set of original
songs with a couple of Clash covers thrown in for good measure. A new local band with real
attitude and promise, look forward to seeing them live again in the very near future.
Dollybyrds are go!
The bar closed bang on eleven and the frankly disgruntled punters started leaving the venue to
head for the nearest late night watering hole before and during the Defects set, which was
unfortunate for the band as it was no fault of theirs. But the punters missed a class show. What
more can I say about the Defects I haven't said before many times, a great band full of piss and
vinegar and all the gigging they've done recently is really paying off. There was times during
tonights set when they just seemed to click into an
aggressive groove and they sounded so powerful it was
scary. They performed a new song and did a great cover
of the Ruts anthem 'In A Rut' late into the set which went
down a storm. 'Marcus Duke' the original Defects guitarist
also joined the band on stage for a couple of numbers,
which was a nice surprise. As far as I know he's back for
good which will only make the Defects even more of a
must-see live punk rock attraction in the future than they
already are, if thats possible!
My verdict of the night as a whole goes something like this,
good company and good music plus I got to wear my new
white 'George Cox' creepers! So what more can you ask
for on a Saturday night?
Some of tonights bands shone very brightly, others just
twinkled, though all in all it was a pretty good
night out.
Joe Donnelly (Belfast) 27th September 2010
The Defects
The Dollybyrds
SSSA
Secret society
The Black Box, Belfast
25th September 2010
Another night of free punkyesqe entertainment in the heart of Belfast at the 'Black Box' courtesy of Immortal
records supremo 'William Maxwell'. And I'd like to thank him for all his efforts on behalf of everyone in
attendance. Now let's get down and dirty with the story of a gig that
promised so much but delivered a little less than expected. The
ludicrous sight of Paul Rowan (SSSA) in a brassy blonde granny wig
plus his unfunny introduction in a faux English accent didn't really help
the first band on stage tonight.
I'd never heard of Secret Society before this show? But I don't think I'll be
rushing out to catch them live again in a hurry! Their mix of 'Police' style
cod reggae and Indie rock (though musically very tight and performed well)
really did nothing for me. Its not that they were bad, they just weren't my
thing.
SSSA were the biggest disappointment of the night for me. I was expecting
(as I was told) a set-list of 'Stage B' classics fleshed out with a few choice
covers, but what we actually got was a four song set that went slowly
downhill with each passing number. I got into a bit of a minor online spat
next day with an SSSA member over my less than enthusiastic but not nasty
personal opinion regarding their performance. And believe it or not
amongst some really pretentious patronising bullshit that he posted,
which pissed me off at the time (and I quote "we will not be pigeon
holed"). He also blamed other people in one communication for the
mis-matched selection of tunes they played here tonight !!! But any
wrong impressions or misconceptions I may have about SSSA are all
down to what I was told by this member of the band. So he's got no-one
to blame but himself for my critical point of view. As for that certain
members superior attitude when they've done nothing yet to back it up?
Someone needs to get a grip on the reality of the bands position in the
scheme of things. And yes I agree Stop Stop Start Again, are most
definitely NOT Stage B.
Enough said and thats the end of it, so its back to the SSSA show, the
Stage B classic 'Recall to Life' was a good start, sounding much
heavier than at their debut performance a few months back. Yeah, the
vocals were a bit ropey in places but in the lead singers defence it is a
very difficult high pitched song to sing live. The new song '??????' was
like some 80's slice of unfashionable crossover pop rock and it wasn't
that bad. Their cover of the Magazine evergreen 'Shot By Both Sides'
was so so and a bit rough here and there. But it was the ill informed
inclusion of a Sex Pistols/modern pop mash up cover which for me was the really big mistake. I
thought it was pretty bad and it shouldn't have made it out of the rehearsal room, never mind
("The Bollocks" - P.D.C.) on stage when they've got so many other great songs they could've/
should've chosen instead of that. Observing SSSA from the outside it looks to me rightly or
wrongly that Paul Rowan seems to be the main man now. The Stage B revival I was lead to
believe they were intended as, is now well and truly dead and buried as far as I could see. His
posing and preening combined with his 'Marc Bolan' pixie tiptoe dancing and a see though t-shirt
that he should have left in his wardrobe from 30 years ago looked so unflattering and out of
place on that stage. I'm not sure what to expect from SSSA anymore? If they want to be seen as
a new band thats fair enough, maybe I'm expecting too much because of the history involved.
Hopefully next time SSSA play live they'll manage a full set of whatever and blow me away.
Having said that I love 'Rowan & Maxwells' (wasn't there a cult sixties US tv show called
something like that? lol) dj sets. They spin some really cool retro tunes.
The Dollybyrds were the band of the night for me. They thrashed out a great set of original
songs with a couple of Clash covers thrown in for good measure. A new local band with real
attitude and promise, look forward to seeing them live again in the very near future.
Dollybyrds are go!
The bar closed bang on eleven and the frankly disgruntled punters started leaving the venue to
head for the nearest late night watering hole before and during the Defects set, which was
unfortunate for the band as it was no fault of theirs. But the punters missed a class show. What
more can I say about the Defects I haven't said before many times, a great band full of piss and
vinegar and all the gigging they've done recently is really paying off. There was times during
tonights set when they just seemed to click into an
aggressive groove and they sounded so powerful it was
scary. They performed a new song and did a great cover
of the Ruts anthem 'In A Rut' late into the set which went
down a storm. 'Marcus Duke' the original Defects guitarist
also joined the band on stage for a couple of numbers,
which was a nice surprise. As far as I know he's back for
good which will only make the Defects even more of a
must-see live punk rock attraction in the future than they
already are, if thats possible!
My verdict of the night as a whole goes something like this,
good company and good music plus I got to wear my new
white 'George Cox' creepers! So what more can you ask
for on a Saturday night?
Some of tonights bands shone very brightly, others just
twinkled, though all in all it was a pretty good
night out.
Joe Donnelly (Belfast) 27th September 2010
