RUBELLA BALLET - Brixton Jamm, September 13th.
i'd not been to Brixton Jamm before, and the web site didn't give too
much away as to what sort of set up it might be, giving the impression it
was a jazz-come-reggae night club. Wrong. It is a nice little venue, with
room for maybe a few hundred and a good sized bar, clearly under used by punk-type bands (nice plug there). It reminded me of a place at the arse-end of Camden's Palace, where biker-types would sit at the front bar, while punk-types listened to their punk-type bands out the back.
First on the bill were EVIL PRESLEYS, not the Elvis Presleys, as the singer was at pains to point out. They sounded very much like Zounds, Steve Lake has clearly moved on a little, but by the 3rd or 4th song, they were unmistakenly Zounds based. They had a particularly good song called "Ancient English Man", funny and to the point (and pint) - the lyrics of the chorus escape me, but I'd buy it should they see fit to release it.
Next up were LOST CHERREES, whose sound was a bit lacking in terms of fine tuning: the feedback I'm sure was unintentional, but irritating by more than half. Ashamedly I am not too familiar with their work, despite both their CDs sitting in my collection. The high point of their set was "Free to speak, but not to question", made all the better as it was the song I immediately recognised. Sorry gang, you were tight, but unfamiliar - my fault.
Now I've waited years to see RUBELLA BALLET. Sid and Zillah were instantly recognisable, and working hard to keep things running smoothly. Unfortunately it was a small gathering, I wouldn't have known about it had it not been for a chance email from them both. Their back-drop was an amusing and colourful (what else?) painting of what I took to be a play on the Statue of Liberty, with a sneaky looking Batman proping up the flame-wielding arm. They started off under blue lights, boy, does that set Zillah's make-up off! "Ballet Dance" was my first taste of Rubella Ballet live, quickly followed by "Trial 13" and "Unemployed". "Love life" was just how I imagined they would be, Sid's trade mark 'tribal drums', Zillah's distinctive singing, with the rest of the band (the petite bass player and tall shaven-headed guitarist) pulling it off to perfection. "Belfast" was delivered at a frantic pace, the urgency of its message smashed in with the intensity.
The next 4 songs were just bliss: "Dream of Honey", "False Promises", "Death Train" and "Arctic Flowers" (one of my favourite Ballet tracks). The band looked like they were enjoying themselves, I was enjoying myself, my wife (NOT a lover of punk-type music) was enjoying herself - I could have gone home happy and contented with that little package, but still in store was "Money Talks"...As Ewan MacGregor says in Trainspotting, "I haven't felt that good since Archie Gemmell scored against Brazil". And I'm not Scottish.
"Slant and Slide", "Blind Ambition" and "42F" were a trip back in time. Fond memories of a life outside London in a place far far away in a time long long ago. Rubella Ballet decided to call it a night after that with "Emotional Blackmail". It was all over, all too soon. I was disappointed I had not brought my camera, but too many times I've had security remove it, and then have the evening spoilled by wondering if I'd ever see it again. But then I wondered if I had brought it, would the flash have removed the so-called trade mark day-glo presence of Rubella Ballet?
I can't wait to see them again, unfortunately not until the end of November. Keep an eye out for them, they say they are coming to a venue near you soon.
MARTIN (NZ punk currently living and working in London) |
