The Mooney Suzuki / The Ghears - London Mean Fiddler - 11/4/05
3/5
By: Andy Willson
Charing Cross Road is a veritable hive of excitement and desperation in equal measure this evening; the second we walk out of the tube-station the ticket touts are there en mass trying to make a few quid here and there. Bugger me, The Mooney Suzuki must be popular. But, on closer inspection, it's actually all tickets for the sold-out Bloc Party show at the Astoria next door. Typical.
It's almost a forgotten venue, the Mean Fiddler, and from reports its days may be numbered, but it's surely given many a band a step up, including the first act tonight, Belfast-based The Ghears. Having recently supported Snow Patrol they've chosen well to join The Suzuki touring the country to air their tunes to the public. If you were wondering what Peter Andre was up to now, well look no further... he's shaved his head and is lead vocalist for The Ghears. He might tell you his name's Paul Archer, but you've never seen them pictured together, have you? The sound is a bit early Manics or REM, spattered with some clever lyrics and Paul is certainly in line to retain his Gurning world title, judging by the boat-race acrobats he musters while singing and shaking his head (a la Davey Gray) in time to each song in perfect sync with the drum beat. Unsigned at the moment, but on the strengths of tonight it won't be too long until that changes.
Next up are... Whoa! And we thought Busted had split up. God knows who the hell this lot are, but wearing a Ramones or Dead Kennedys T shirt is not big and it's not shrewd, nor is covering The Primatives' 'Crash'. It's at this point we turn to other members of the audience to see who can actually hit the singer with a full beer can... Harsh. But fair. This lot should've been on first so we could've stayed in the pub to watch the football. Please stop.
Things return to 'normal'/as they should be the second The Mooney Suzuki take to the stage, but you still get an eerie shudder down your back when recalling what you just witnessed. The simplest/laziest way to describe the presence of The Suzuki would be The New York Hives, as singer Sammy James Junior banters with the crowd and howls every now and then. His look is very much Ben Stiller in 'Starsky & Hutch', but with his trademark polka-dot tie he manages to retain some individuality. The sound is deeply reminiscent of MC5 or The Stooges; very dirty, and very happening right now.
After the top-40 success of recent, boho-glam anthem 'Alive & Amplified' they prove they're certainly no one-trick pony, with a few other doting, fast-paced gems thrown in for good measure. Drummer Augie Wilson (no relation) looks dashing in his plus 4's and flat cap; the only thing missing is his set of golf clubs. He strikes some stunning poses atop his drumkit, looking like a 1950's 'Gratton' catalogue model. It's spiky, it's erratic and it's certainly captivating, and guitarist Graham Taylor decides to continue playing while throwing himself into the crowd. You can't deny their style.
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