Eagles of Death Metal - London Soho Revue Bar - 22/1/07
5/5
By: Keri Kennedy
Imagine if you will; a strip club, a transvestite, a hen night and a few 30 to 50-something men prancing about onstage. Sounds a bit like hell, or Blackpool at the weekend. Welcome to EODM's 'ladies only' gig at the Soho Revue Bar - formerly the infamously seedy Raymond Revue Bar.
Usually, the idea of a ladies night brings images of paralytic girls being pawed at by lagered up idiots in the local Ritzy, though EODM's evening is no such affair. Bar a few roadies, staff and that tranny (which he is for just that one night only) the luxurious club is wall to wall women, and come to think if it, it's damn surprising more bands haven't done this before.
After the compere introduces the band with the borderline cringeworthy "ladies, put your hands in the air and your knickers on the floor", EODM enter to Dizzee Rascal's 'Fix Up Look Sharp' and lay straight into 'Don't Speak (I Came To Make A BANG)', hilarious and brilliant all at once. Vocalist Jesse 'The Devil' Hughes is like a rock'n'roll Ned Flanders. He's geeky, cheeky and has pure showmanship running through his veins, which is a good job, seeing as part time and most famous 'Eagle, Josh Homme, isn't here to help. Stopping to mop his brow and comb his quiff, he can't hide that he's blown away by the fact he's got 300 or so excitable women staring back at him. Bassist Brian O'Connor and guitarist Dave Catching are like two kids in a sweetshop, the look on their faces is genuine, one of not believing their own luck.
EODM storm through their catalogue of sleazy, swinging garage rock, punctuated at every opportunity with Jesse thanking the ladies, loving the ladies, catching a thong thrown at him, handing out vodka to anyone 'of age' and telling all that 'this show takes the cake' and 'is the best motherf**king gig of their lives'. 'Stuck In The Metal' makes me personally feel like I'm in a 70s pick up joint while the walrus-mustached Jesse struts through the song, though 'Cherry Cola' ends up in a chaotic karaoke fight with girls all over Jesse, screaming their own lyrics down his mic.
After begging everyone to get off the stage with the promise of more butt wiggling tunes, they take a breather with the scuzzy 'I Got A Feelin (Just Nineteen)'. It doesn't take much time though for the frantic hen-do crowd to clamber back up for 'I Want You So Hard (Boys Bad News)'. It's so good Jesse and co. do what they've 'never done in our whole f**kin' lives' and play it all over again.
A cover of the Stones 'Brown Sugar' gives us a chance to get our breath back, during the deliciously camp 'I Only Want You' Jesse climbs onto one of the pole dancing platforms, only to get his shirt ripped off. An extended, stomping version of 'Speaking In Tongues' closes the show with total pandemonium, and fittingly Jesse gets a tongue down his throat from one of the girls hanging round his neck. EODM look exhausted, yet satisfied, the sweat dripping off each and every one of them.
They've pulled out just about every cliché in the rock'n'roll book tonight - they're cheesy, tongue-in-cheek and often simply filthy, but they've proved that being pretentious gets you nowhere. Forget about ladies night, this was Eagles night, and they deserved it.
To view Keri's online photo exhibition of the event, click HERE.
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