Waking The Dead seems an unlikely, some would
even say impossible, ending to one's evening's
jaunts. Well, think again as South of the Border
presented a 'raucus Mexican evening of punk rock
and rock n roll' featuring Spycatcher, Tropics
and fearless bill toppers, The Computers. Oh yeah,
and a blindfolded raffle winner swinging a golf
club at a suspended pinata - only one head was
nearly lost.
Spy Catcher were the perfect appetiser on the
rock menu as they wowed the crowd with their special
brew of grit pop delicacies. Being shouted at
never felt so damn good as the Watford foursome
ricocheted their punk rock stylings against every
wall and rib cage in the vicinity. Steve Sears,
Mitch Mitchener, Stu Gili-Ross and Will Taylor
took us to the brink but not quite into the warm
glow of the white light. So energetic and unrelenting
his beating was, it seemed inevitable that Taylor
be ejected from his drum kit in the most rocking
James Bond kind of way. It's ok. He just about
stayed put.
The next celebrants came in the form of Tropics
and their unique sound patterns. The sunshine
reigned the second the Brit punk noiseniks stepped
into the spotlight showering revellers with offbeat
rock n roll meltings fit, in time, for a much
larger stage. Short, sharp bursts of pure adrenaline
fuelled punk rock evolved into a punchy set punctuated
only by equally short 'Thanks' before the palatable
punky onslaught continued it's journey of destruction
on our frontal lobes.
Headline honchos, The Computers put the fuck yeah
into tonight's already chaotic proceedings - as
if it needed help being any more anarchic after
the golf club-pinata beating interval.The men
in white, complete with the perfectly groomed
barnets of Alex, Sonny and Nic and Aidan's festival
appropriate make over, stripped out anything extraneous
to deliver a set of nigh-on perfect punk rock
tunes including Must Try Harder, S.O.S., and Love
The Music Hate The Kids. Cue big fat doses of
naturally comedic banter, giant quiff and gargantuan
onstage presence to rival that of Linkin Park,
these insane Devonian upstarts made this reviewer
more excited than she's been in a hell of a long
time with fusions of rock n roll and 80's hardcore;
who knew the harmonica sat so well next to abrasive
vocals and beat down riffs. Remember kids, '2011
is the year of dance' and The Computers are bringing
back dancing into the 'cool' hangouts of London.
Want balls on the chopping board rock n roll?
Oh boy, do these bands do all out rock like no
other! The bill fillers left us ecstatically exhausted
and dripping in Alex Kershaw's sweat after being
corralled by the frontman's mic. Three cheers
for the mother fucking Teenage Tourettes Campers
and their troop of supporting merry pranksters!
The Computers - 5/5
Tropics - 4/5
Spy Catcher - 4.5/5
Review By Jessica Acreman
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