She Burns Red proved they were an excellent proposition with last years “Out Of The Darkness” record – and the pick of its work like “Crosshairs” is wonderful here too – but a little like former touring partners, South Of Salem, what is most noticeable about them, when you watch them live as MV is doing here for the first time, is just how aggressive they are.
“Rise And Fall” shows the joint vocal interplay between their two constant members Vocalist/Guitarist Andy Moore & Vocalist/Bassist James McCulloch as well as any do, and “Heavy Is The Head” revs up for some filthy sounding biker rock not a million miles from The Almighty jamming on modern metal.
The cover of “It’s So Easy” adds some Scottish grit to the LA sleaze, and drummer Scott Hanlon (ex Anchor Lane) is to the fore on “Out Of Darkness”.
An impressive set, one that includes a new song, and proves that She Burns Red are a band that is both looking forward but crucially isn’t too keen to remain on the outer edge of the UK rock scene for much longer.
The best thing about The Hot Damn! might be the look of terror on Lzi Hayes (ex of New Device) every time the fireworks go off in her proximity, but the music is just about level pegging with it.
I know what you’re thinking if you look at the picture below. Yes, they are inflatable unicorns onstage with The Hot Damn! Why? Well, frankly just because. The Hot Damn! are a day-glo, sugar rush of a thing. Power pop? Kinda, but with way more emphasis on power.
You’d expect it too, given the pedigree of the band includes Gill Montgomery (The Amorettes), and Josie O’Toole (Tequila Mockingbyrd) but this is a very different beast to those bands.
“Fizz Buzz Crash” their opener is basically their sound in three words, but this is fun – and bouncier than a five-year-old on Christmas Morning.
“About Last Night” is part apology and part celebration, “Jukebox On The Radio” is glam rock done right, and the high kicking on “Loud And Clear” is worth watching them for alone. More Choreography than the Scorpions and twice as fun. “Live Laugh Love” is nothin’ but a good time, and the closer “I Didn’t Like You Anyway” understands it’s their loss anyway. It also implores you not to fuck with them, and it’s clear if you take one on, you best take them all.
Step into the technicolour world of The Hot Damn!, though and there’s a warm, summery welcome.
Perhaps it is a night for inflatables, given that a whale – or let’s face it, it could be a dolphin – turns up for Terrorvision’s last song. You might know it, but then you might know most of these, given the band’s back catalogue.
It started about an hour and a quarter before with another on the great long list of bangers, they were played almost one after the other, as if there were no big deal. “Pretend Best Friend”, from that second album, the one that everyone my age went mad for in 1994.
But, it is when the beat drops on “American TV” but you suddenly realise, just one effect this man had on so many people. There is a collective “boom!” amongst the crowd.
At this point in their careers, the band can essentially turn up anywhere and knock out an hour of hits. And moreover, those hits sound just as good as ever, but also just as good as anyone’s ever have. So there’s “My House” (“we wrote this. In the last Millennium, that makes you 1000 years old. I need to officially a folk song” laughs Tony Wright. Who, in his pink suit this evening, appears to have come dressed as a member of Showaddywaddy, but he remains absolutely one of the finest frontmen of his generation.
There are a couple of newer songs, and they fit in superbly. “Problem Solved” Dials up the punk and “The Night That Lemmy Died” is a real interesting addition.
But the band are clever, they know at this point what people have come to see, And that means “Tequilla” with an honourable mention too for that gig in Dudley I was at almost 25 years ago, when the band were high in the charts and managed to break the floor at JB’s.
It also means “Alice, What’s The Matter?” “Some People Say”, “Middleman”, “Oblivion” and “Celebrity Hit List” and plenty more, as Leigh Marklew and Mark Yates – like Wright the originals – bounce up and down.
Terrorvision 2024 also have a brass section which adds to the mix =, and Milton Evans on keyboards (he was here too when Wright played acoustic here opening for The Sweet) but somehow they always manage to sound exactly the same as they always did. And that is a truly wonderful thing.
As “Discotheque Wreck” and “Josephine” – harking back to a simpler time before gender identity and culture wars, JK Rowling would not approve – end what is a predictably riotous set, the thought strikes that its time to think about giving Terrorvision one of those blue plaques to recognise their national heritage status, surely.
And that’s even before “Perseverance” and the whales and dolphins, yeah.
On the surface, Terrorvision (they’re from West Yorkshire, they don’t like to talk about it) are knockabout fun, But yeah they are way more than that. They have some truly brilliant, I’m extremely original songs. They are also one of the finest live bands you’ll ever see. I first saw them not far off 30 years ago, I have never seen them play a bad show.
On their social media, the band are trailing announcement for Monday. So I would guess do you haven’t seen the last of these particular glorious reprobates in 2024. And that is a magnificent prospect.
