Buck Eejit / Damage Flag / VX / Johnny Vans - live @ Alexanders Bar, Lisburn, 17/11/12
Never been in 'Alexanders Bar' before, and when I saw the old fashioned decor and the framed autographed pictures of all the homegrown acts who'd played the venue in the past I thought we'd done a 'Blues Brothers' and turned up at the wrong place which only hosted both kinds of music 'Country and Western'.
But I have to say it had a certain 70s retro charm and friendly atmosphere about it, which is something you would be hard pressed to find in virtually any other modern day city centre money grabbing glitzy drinking establishment.
The bill tonight was eclectic to say the least, we had Blues, Alternative, Thrash Metal and Punk all under one roof, and do you know what it worked perfectly on the night.
'Johnny Vans' who is a 'Lisburn' legend was first up , he played a short set of original songs and a swampy blues cover of Pink Floyds 'Another Brick in the Wall'. I don't often, if ever, listen to this kind of pure roots music but I enjoyed it , and what a beautiful resonator chrome guitar he had.
Next it was the turn of the new kids on the block everybody is talking about'VX', who were a last minute addition to this show. Noisey and energetic as always they somehow managed to do a vintage 'Ramones' and play their 30min set in a breakneck 17 mins, so it was no wonder the promoter and audience wanted them to play another couple of songs. That was until $teven in mid guitar frenzy broke a string, and put an end to that happening. This was a great way for 'VX' to warm up for their support slot for highly regarded danish punks 'IceAge' at the 'Limelight' Belfast the following Wednesday evening.
'Damageflag' looked as if they had just stepped off the time travelling transporter from the San Francisco thrash scene of the early 80s, and boy could these guys shred. Excellent musicians with a great sense of humour, check out 'Lesbians' and 'Waltz with the devil'. The drum kit was collapsing all around them as the drummer was hitting it so hard, and they still didn't miss a beat. Look forward to catching this band live again sometime.
Headliners Lisburn's number one and only punk band 'Buck Eejit' played a blinder on their home turf, how could they fail with songs like '9 to5 (A& E)' , Terri Hooley, Last bus to Nowhere' and I loved their cover of 'The Cramps' classic 'The Crusher',and with the endless gags and banter from maniac frontman 'Paddy O'Doors' how could you not have a good time. The guy could easily do stand up, if he wasn't such a punk rock icon in Lisburn [town] already.
But as I've said before, yes! the songs are rib cracking funny , but don't underestimate 'Buck Eejit' they are a tight band and a lot of hard graft goes into those tunes.
This was 'Buck Eejits' first event as gig promoters and happily for them it was a success. Hopefully they'll keep at it and do it all over again, it was a great night.
Sadly 'Mabel' won't be there anymore, lol.
Well done guys!
Courtesy of the 'Joe Donnelly' facebook page 21.11.12.
But I have to say it had a certain 70s retro charm and friendly atmosphere about it, which is something you would be hard pressed to find in virtually any other modern day city centre money grabbing glitzy drinking establishment.
The bill tonight was eclectic to say the least, we had Blues, Alternative, Thrash Metal and Punk all under one roof, and do you know what it worked perfectly on the night.
'Johnny Vans' who is a 'Lisburn' legend was first up , he played a short set of original songs and a swampy blues cover of Pink Floyds 'Another Brick in the Wall'. I don't often, if ever, listen to this kind of pure roots music but I enjoyed it , and what a beautiful resonator chrome guitar he had.
Next it was the turn of the new kids on the block everybody is talking about'VX', who were a last minute addition to this show. Noisey and energetic as always they somehow managed to do a vintage 'Ramones' and play their 30min set in a breakneck 17 mins, so it was no wonder the promoter and audience wanted them to play another couple of songs. That was until $teven in mid guitar frenzy broke a string, and put an end to that happening. This was a great way for 'VX' to warm up for their support slot for highly regarded danish punks 'IceAge' at the 'Limelight' Belfast the following Wednesday evening.
'Damageflag' looked as if they had just stepped off the time travelling transporter from the San Francisco thrash scene of the early 80s, and boy could these guys shred. Excellent musicians with a great sense of humour, check out 'Lesbians' and 'Waltz with the devil'. The drum kit was collapsing all around them as the drummer was hitting it so hard, and they still didn't miss a beat. Look forward to catching this band live again sometime.
Headliners Lisburn's number one and only punk band 'Buck Eejit' played a blinder on their home turf, how could they fail with songs like '9 to5 (A& E)' , Terri Hooley, Last bus to Nowhere' and I loved their cover of 'The Cramps' classic 'The Crusher',and with the endless gags and banter from maniac frontman 'Paddy O'Doors' how could you not have a good time. The guy could easily do stand up, if he wasn't such a punk rock icon in Lisburn [town] already.
But as I've said before, yes! the songs are rib cracking funny , but don't underestimate 'Buck Eejit' they are a tight band and a lot of hard graft goes into those tunes.
This was 'Buck Eejits' first event as gig promoters and happily for them it was a success. Hopefully they'll keep at it and do it all over again, it was a great night.
Sadly 'Mabel' won't be there anymore, lol.
Well done guys!
Courtesy of the 'Joe Donnelly' facebook page 21.11.12.