Fudged, Pistachio Fiends, Inner City Sumo @ Bar Blu, Rhyl
(reviewed by Neil Crud, Fudged pic not taken at gig!)
Toddling up the road toward Blu I could hear live music pulsing from the top floor, indicating that although before 9pm Inner City Sumo (great name) had already kick started the night. They had initially complained about being 1st on the bill, but with this their 2nd(?) gig it wasn’t a bad decision as they get to grips with their identity & sound. Though it is good to see a band passionate enough to want to play further up the bill. My old trick was to ensure one member couldn’t get there until later thus ensuring a better slot.
The Rastin thought Inner City Sumo’s foxy lady singer sounded like Hazel o’Connor whereas I drew closer comparisons with Sarah from Black Swans. But like I said, its early days for this band & you can just sense there is a great potential just bursting to get out, only shed loads of practice & gigs will cure that.
On the other hand, Liverpool’s Pistachio Fiends have been there & done their apprenticeships & are now looking for full time employment. Judging by the accents they come from the posh part of Liverpool, which in my estimation is the Wirral! (The scummy part being Rhyl!). Excellent musicianship & a good set that even a bad tempered bass amp couldn’t spoil, they actually broke Kneejerk’s bass amp on their last visit. The songs did come across well live although they did strike me that they’d sound weak in the studio (please prove me wrong). The excellent cover of Video Killed The Radio Star warmed the decent sized crowd, followed by the much better self-penned Looking For Elvis, complete with the King’s ‘uh-huhs.’
Bands from out of town are a different breed, they obviously travel so feel confident enough to ply their trade away from the home fans, which does set them apart from the young local bands we have here. It should also be a marker for our bands to aim for; to be more than merely local heroes.
Which brings us aptly on to Fudged.
I came here tonight for a night off, not to review, but to enjoy. I ended up doing both. Fudged are local heroes, but also play out of town very regularly, their problem is they play in obscure places where the arseholes from London companies will not go. New songs & old songs dotted the set with the damn witty Orgy being something I’ve not heard before & a new 8 minute slow one (didn’t catch the name) with a trademark meandering guitar solo from Ben Jackson. They fizz through the genre swamp somewhere between skate punk & heavy rock, even their cover of AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie is mutated beyond recognition, you could say its how it’d sound played on a skateboard. One thing I do feel about Fudged is they should release an album & every household should have a copy.
Bar Blu now has a 12 o’clock licence, oh bollocks, Wednesday nights now become Thursday mornings as well.
