Justice Tonight featuring Mick Jones, Pete Wylie, The Farm, Temper-Mental Miss Elayaneous & Barry Krishna, Don Letts, and John Robb- live @ the Spring & Airbrake, Belfast, 31/03/2012
(review & photos © Joe Donnelly)
I hate going to the S&A to see bands when there's a full house, it's a horrible and uncomfortable experience.
But this was all for a good cause, and tonights sold out show ensured there will be a few more quid raised to add to the Hillsborough fighting fund. The Undertones tip off I recieved earlier in the week which came from two usually very reliable old punk sources turned out to be a bum steer, which was pretty disappointing. The gig itself turned out to be a decent enough night but after a short period of reflection I now realise it wasn't really the big special ocassion I was expecting. Then again that wasn't the point of the show, was it?
The first band on turned out to be a Dublin electro rap duo called 'Temper-Mental Miss-Elayneous' & 'Barry Krishna' and in my opinion they were the best band out of a patchy line up .She was small in stature & my first impressions were that she resembled a bizzare mash up of Smantha Fox & Toyah Wilcox, tattooed & dressed in the latest rock threads. I actually didn't know what to expect but I was way of the mark, because once she got into her uncompromising stride those silly comparisons of mine couldn't have been further from the truth. She had a menacing & unpredictable stage pesence ,combined with a tough no nonsense attitude.She also had a lot to say, and she made sure her opinions were heard loud & clear through the bands socially conscious self penned songs like 'Dominoes' & 'Contra Diction', which left you in no doubt that this was not a clueless lightweight female fronted local electro rap act.
I'm certainly no rap fan but Temper-Mental Miss Elayneous & Barry Krishna were excellent .
An unannounced appearance by punk author,journalist, TV personality and Goldblade frontman John Robb was for me a welcomed distraction from this evenings overdose of non stop dub sounds, now being played by the not usually so camera shy dj Don Letts who had been standing in the shadows at his turntables with his back to the audience. Apart from Steven, me and the few other enlightened souls, there didn't seem to be many in the venue who actually knew who the MC in creepers now on-stage was, pity he didn't perform a few tunes.
The Farm were definitely up for a bit of craic by announcing from the off that they wanted to party like it was 1990. The scouse sense of humour was to the fore all evening. Can't say I've ever been a fan of theirs but I certainly knew their baggy hits like 'Groovy Train' etc and the sound was pristine, full marks to the guy on the mixing desk. Pete Wylie & Mick Jones joined them for the last song of the short set which just happened to be their anthem 'All Together Now' which had the crowd , many from the football fraternity, singing along to every word.
It was now time for the Pete Wylie (Wah!) section of the show, and very good he was too. He may have looked like a gone to seed teddy boy (which he joked about himself) but he has some sterling and little heard tunes in his setlist 'Comeback' ,'Sinful' , 'Story of the Blues' , great songs the lot of them. 'The Day Margaret Thatcher Died' was a real crowd pleasing finale. Pete was a class act, and his between song banter was one of the highlights of the night.
And finally it was the star turn of the show, forget that Mick Jones 2012 style looks like a city gent in his suit & tie, instead of a living breathing 'Jackson Pollock' canvas. It was now time for a few vintage Clash tunes and it became clear early on that Mick's idea of a 'best of' set isn't the same as mine. Yeah! we got 'White Man' & Mick's masterpiece 'Stay Free' (sung surprisingly by Pete Wylie), but for me recognising the extensive classic Clash back catalogue he had to choose from, the over-all very pedestrian and safe selections weren't that great, also the addition of a few BAD tunes would've went down a treat. Late into the set he played the Clash song I truely hate, which is the awful 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'. This is the point when I gave up the ghost and decided to call it a night , much to the delight of Steven. In all honesty the Mick Jones part of the show was a bit of a disappointment, but taking the gig as a whole it was a reasonable enough night out and a good cause got some much needed cash.
I'll leave the last words to my son Steven who is a hardened gig goer & a teenage guitarist with a punk rock attitude who didn't dig this show at all, with the exception of Temper- Mental Miss Elayneous & Barry Krishna who he thought were fantastic.
He said & I quote "that was so nice & middle of the road it was like an old peoples cabaret show". Out of the mouths of babes lol.
Ulp!.
Joe Donnelly Belfast .1.4.12.
I hate going to the S&A to see bands when there's a full house, it's a horrible and uncomfortable experience.
But this was all for a good cause, and tonights sold out show ensured there will be a few more quid raised to add to the Hillsborough fighting fund. The Undertones tip off I recieved earlier in the week which came from two usually very reliable old punk sources turned out to be a bum steer, which was pretty disappointing. The gig itself turned out to be a decent enough night but after a short period of reflection I now realise it wasn't really the big special ocassion I was expecting. Then again that wasn't the point of the show, was it?
The first band on turned out to be a Dublin electro rap duo called 'Temper-Mental Miss-Elayneous' & 'Barry Krishna' and in my opinion they were the best band out of a patchy line up .She was small in stature & my first impressions were that she resembled a bizzare mash up of Smantha Fox & Toyah Wilcox, tattooed & dressed in the latest rock threads. I actually didn't know what to expect but I was way of the mark, because once she got into her uncompromising stride those silly comparisons of mine couldn't have been further from the truth. She had a menacing & unpredictable stage pesence ,combined with a tough no nonsense attitude.She also had a lot to say, and she made sure her opinions were heard loud & clear through the bands socially conscious self penned songs like 'Dominoes' & 'Contra Diction', which left you in no doubt that this was not a clueless lightweight female fronted local electro rap act.
I'm certainly no rap fan but Temper-Mental Miss Elayneous & Barry Krishna were excellent .
An unannounced appearance by punk author,journalist, TV personality and Goldblade frontman John Robb was for me a welcomed distraction from this evenings overdose of non stop dub sounds, now being played by the not usually so camera shy dj Don Letts who had been standing in the shadows at his turntables with his back to the audience. Apart from Steven, me and the few other enlightened souls, there didn't seem to be many in the venue who actually knew who the MC in creepers now on-stage was, pity he didn't perform a few tunes.
The Farm were definitely up for a bit of craic by announcing from the off that they wanted to party like it was 1990. The scouse sense of humour was to the fore all evening. Can't say I've ever been a fan of theirs but I certainly knew their baggy hits like 'Groovy Train' etc and the sound was pristine, full marks to the guy on the mixing desk. Pete Wylie & Mick Jones joined them for the last song of the short set which just happened to be their anthem 'All Together Now' which had the crowd , many from the football fraternity, singing along to every word.
It was now time for the Pete Wylie (Wah!) section of the show, and very good he was too. He may have looked like a gone to seed teddy boy (which he joked about himself) but he has some sterling and little heard tunes in his setlist 'Comeback' ,'Sinful' , 'Story of the Blues' , great songs the lot of them. 'The Day Margaret Thatcher Died' was a real crowd pleasing finale. Pete was a class act, and his between song banter was one of the highlights of the night.
And finally it was the star turn of the show, forget that Mick Jones 2012 style looks like a city gent in his suit & tie, instead of a living breathing 'Jackson Pollock' canvas. It was now time for a few vintage Clash tunes and it became clear early on that Mick's idea of a 'best of' set isn't the same as mine. Yeah! we got 'White Man' & Mick's masterpiece 'Stay Free' (sung surprisingly by Pete Wylie), but for me recognising the extensive classic Clash back catalogue he had to choose from, the over-all very pedestrian and safe selections weren't that great, also the addition of a few BAD tunes would've went down a treat. Late into the set he played the Clash song I truely hate, which is the awful 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'. This is the point when I gave up the ghost and decided to call it a night , much to the delight of Steven. In all honesty the Mick Jones part of the show was a bit of a disappointment, but taking the gig as a whole it was a reasonable enough night out and a good cause got some much needed cash.
I'll leave the last words to my son Steven who is a hardened gig goer & a teenage guitarist with a punk rock attitude who didn't dig this show at all, with the exception of Temper- Mental Miss Elayneous & Barry Krishna who he thought were fantastic.
He said & I quote "that was so nice & middle of the road it was like an old peoples cabaret show". Out of the mouths of babes lol.
Ulp!.
Joe Donnelly Belfast .1.4.12.