Fudge Night # 320
Reviewed by Lucky
Firstly, let me apologise for the lack of updates recently. Sometimes unfortunately real life gets in the way of keeping a fanzine, and I‘ve been busy with work, playing gigs in Edinburgh, attending gigs in Glasgow and moving house, all of which ate into my gig attending / gig reviewing schedule. Meanwhile my fellow reviewer Gladstone has been doing shit like running marathons, rescuing cats from trees, single-handedly curing cancer, generally being an all round hero.
But, after a few hectic weeks I managed to drag my beautiful self down to the Moorings this Saturday night having heard a lot of excited chat about the upcoming Darth Elvis gig, or to give them their full name, Darth Elvis & The Tattooine Trio. More on them later however. Opening the night (after it transpired that original opening band Chaos Theory were under 18 and thus, not allowed into the venue) were Tragic City Thieves. Spiky, loud as fuck and brimming with attitude, this Glaswegian foursome swagger onto the stage in an explosion of leopard-print and make-up. They combine glam rock with punk with exciting results, like a demonic, shambolic New York Dolls. Their songs are energetic, fun, and incredibly danceable. A fantastic opening act who seemed to get the crowd fired up. Book them up again Mr. Fudge.
Rating - ****
Following on from there came Brothel Corpse Trio, a band I really wanted to like. I’m a big horrorpunk / psychobilly fan, so I savour the rare occurrences when a band of that genre plays in Aberdeen. The Trio this evening had swelled to a sextuplet, as various hangers-on, well, hung on really, and as they took to the stage and started their set the dancefloor filled right up. Initially I was quite impressed with them, though most of it was due to Phil’s awesome punk voice, and the bassist playing a proper upright double bass, like off of one of them rockabilly bands n’ that. But, as entertaining and energetic as this performance undoubtedly was, what lets the BCT down is their songs, which are, for the most part, largely forgettable, all a bit too similar. The crowd seemed to love it though, and the band’s enthusiasm is certainly contagious, but musically I found it a bit like bubblegum - great for the first few minutes but quickly becoming all a bit bland.
Rating - **
Last but not least, Darth Elvis & The Tattooine Trio take the stage to the sound of the Imperial March, and this is, I’ll bet, the only band in the world which feature a stormtrooper on drums, a Jedi on guitar, Boba Fett on bass and a Sith Elvis impersonator on lead vocals. They play exclusively Elvis Presley covers with the lyrics changed to be about Star Wars (no I’m not making that up). They open with “Trouble” which has been altered to include references to Admiral Ackbar (that weird fish-turd guy from Return Of The Jedi) amongst other things. Darth Elvis himself twists and contorts and gyrates, channelling the spirit of the King, and while he may not quite have the King’s voice down to a tee, he comes pretty damn close. He also works the crowd brilliantly, making sure the whole place is dancing and singing along to these bizarre crossover songs. As for the songs themselves, how do they fare? Well firstly, they are all Elvis songs so you know they are going to be pretty good, and Tatooine Trio play them with gusto, rocking them up significantly from the originals. However, where a “comedy” band lives or dies is by its lyrics and playing live in a rowdy bar is not the best place to make your lyrics heard, no matter how good the PA is. While I’m sure I missed about 50% of the Star Wars references due to poor sound, the well-known classic songs and the fevered performance were good enough to ensure that most of them hit the mark (“That’s Alright Jabba”, “You Ain’t Nothing But A Nerf Herder”, “Viva Mos Eisley”) although a few fell short (“A Little Less Disintegration”, “Suspicious Minds”). By the time Darth Elvis and co. had “left the building”, the patrons of this particular wretched hive of scum and villainy were clapping and whooping hoping for an encore which never came, but ultimately I think every one of us went home happy. There is room for comedy in music when it’s done well, and this live spectacle, which is quite obviously a labour of love for man under the Sith cloak, is certainly worth the £3 door money, even if I did pay in with a tenner and not get any fucking change.
Rating - ***
Band Of The Night - Tragic City Thieves
www.myspace.com/darth_elvis
www.myspace.com/thebrothelcorpsetrio
www.myspace.com/tragiccitythieves
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