Wombats From Space: The Attack Of The 50ft Dip-lomats…

Dip (MFN Shipley Gate) 30/05/12…

A decade and a half ago whilst suppin’ me brown and mild int Durham Ox Langley Mill and preparing to watch Ilkeston band Weaver’s Ro, who at that time (the late nineties) were pretty much flying the flag for local rock bands single handed with many of their luminaries having split-up or quit the scene, suddenly things were about to change big time. The support band on that far flung starry night consisted of a few familiar faces but the name Dip was far from familiar, however over the next dozen years or so they were to become leg-ends of the local and un-local rock scene, inspiring many bands yet to come.

That was then and this is now, having had an hiatus of around two and a half years Dip made their dramatic re-emergence at MFN, nestled as it is in Thunder Valley a storm was about to be released. Now if you’d lived in a pyramid on Mars or a hole in Uranus and only arrived on Earth two years ago you’d be forgiven for thinking Dip were a super group consisting of members of Teenage Casket Co. JD & The FDCs, Crazy Diamond etc etc, well you’d be wrong, Dip are more a super group in reverse. Consisting of Daz Mondo (lead vocals/lead guitar) Craig (lead guitar/backing vocals) Scott (drums/backing vocals/human leg etc) and last but not least Laney 74 (bass) Dip allows this quartet of versatile musicians to revert to their default settings giving them a licence to grill. Tonight the faithful have gathered at MFN to witness a spectacle rarely seen these days, Daz resplendent in his twisted ‘Joker’ style makeup singing the songs in a vocal style akin to a Wookie crossed with Zoonie the Lazoon (for anyone under 40 that’s from Fireball XL5) Laney on bass moving around at times like Quasimodo and at other times jumping off the walls (literally) like some kind of urban freestyler. Craig, the master of the silly hat drops in funny asides off the cuff, while Scott behind his drum kit seems to conduct much of the madness like a puppet master.

The Ilkeston based band has dredged up all their old merchandise to for tonight’s event (probably out of Laney’s attic) but what is this? A new CD? Yes Dip are selling a new disc for three English ponds only. Sick to the bone is a fifteen track monster of a CD with eleven previously unreleased studio tracks and four golden oldies recorded live, well worth the money I might add.

On with the show and over the next hour or so Dip crank it up big style and like the audience are having a ball. All the songs are ‘classics’ i.e. old but freshly served up for our delectation, five leaf clover, scared ‘o’ telephones and party seven from their 1999 EP cheapo plastic prize along with material from their latest album such as visible from space, uncle les, weirdo, eat your words, take your medicine and the title track, sick to the bone (songs about Scott’s big telly, a bloke who keeps shrunken heads in his shed and laughing at funerals are the norm in the Dip Universe) Daz Mondo keeps encouraging the crowd to ‘do the hand sign’ (see pic above) which is a variation of the ‘Devil’s hornz’ sign popularized by the late great Ronnie James Dio. And with the trademark heckle from the crowd of ‘eat more lard’ along with much kicking about of the beach balls scattered around MFN everyone is partying like its 2009 (the last time Dip played live). with the madness careering towards a close of play it’s time for the all time classic Dip song Wombat from their 2002 EP gizzagoo, for the fist time ever the ‘Grandma’ of the song has been brought to life and complete with walking sticks (should have been a zimmer) proceeds to dance about with Daz Mondo while he shouts at everyone through a megaphone, quite bizarre. The finale of the evening is an encore of AC/DC’s sin city incorporating a chant of ‘buy our bullshit’ a subliminal message designed to sell more of their merchandise, I can’t help thinking Dip have missed a trick, why not have ‘cuddly’ Wombats with the Dip logo on them I recon they’d fly off the shelf (do Wombats fly?) remember you heard it here first folks.

And what of the future I hear you say, well I know that all the members of Dip enjoyed them selves immensely tonight and were glad to be back, weather or not they write any new songs remains to be seen but with new management on board the good ship Dip I’m sure we will be hearing and seeing (is believing) more fat boy rock n’ roll in the not to distant future… GD.


              Bellow: Various shots of dip & their bullshit @ MFN 

                             

Discworld With The Man of Metal…

Skeleton Crew – Theatre of War (Album)

Skeleton Crew are a “hard rock quintet from Nottingham who effortlessly fuse hard-hitting riffs with memorable melodies and rich harmonies, and deliver it all with a complete absence of grace and decorum.”

Theatre of War is the bands second album and having attended the lavish launch night at Ye Olde Salutation Inn Nottingham complete with live performance by the band as well as a rock karaoke and table cloths (bizarre) I finally got down to listening to the CD after all the bones had settled into dust.

The Clam an over long intro leads us into the title track, Theatre of War and in my view the best song on the album. Packed with catchy lyrics, riffs and drum beats this track sets up the whole disc leaving the listener craving more. Four Letter word is a pomp rock song with plenty of backing vocal harmonies guaranteed to get ya foot tapping. Retribution slows thing down a bit and although a well crafted song it represents the start of a bit of a lull on the album. Kiss Kiss picks things up a bit giving lead vocalist Lyndon Parry plenty to do while Moon on the River continues the slower pace of the middle part of the album however it has some beautiful guitar brakes in it. Thank the great skeleton gods for Oppressor this song picks things up again it’s a metal anthem with NWOBHM overtones that make it my second favourite track of the CD. Obsessive Ex is a counterpoint to the previous track, funky guitar and soul like backing vocals just highlights how diverse Theatre of War is. Into the Light and Twenty 7 are both good songs the first is a bit of  an album filler while the latter has overtones of Joe Jackson’s Is She Really Going Out With Him. The ultimate track of the album is Say Goodbye a worthy send off to a mixed bag of a CD, Lyndon Parry (Vocals), Graham Byron (Guitar), Steve Evans (Bass), Drew Traylor (Drums), Rob Holsman (Guitar/Keyboards) have managed to release an album that will appeal to many rock fans, one thing for sure it’s not a predictable listen… Bring it on!  GD.

School’s Out! The Belles of British Metal…

Girlschool (Fibbers York) 03/03/12…

Where to start? I know let’s go back thirty two years to the dawn of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) the year is 1980, the venue the Nottingham boat club, the band Girlschool and it’s my first encounter with the all girl heavy metal band but not by a long chalk is it to be my last. Back then they had just released their first album (Demolition) and hot off supporting Motorhead on tour, were making a name for themselves as show headliners. The following year saw them rise to headline many major venues in the UK as well as a headlining slot at Reading festival in 1981. That same year saw the girls release their second and probably most memorable album (Hit and Run) at the end of 2011 Girlschool released Hit and Run Revisited their twelfth studio album which is a re-recording of the 81’ classic for its thirtieth anniversary.

Anyway that’s just a sliver of history for ya, tonight however I’m in the historic city of Eboracum, Jorvik or York (take your pick) to see the belles of British metal play live at Fibbers. The evening comes on the back of yours truly playing a convincing role of a tourist (sights to see, inns to sup in) it’s got to be done. Fibbers is a small live venue with bags of atmosphere and a good PA system so after a couple of local bands have done their stuff it’s on with the main support band. NG26 are on tour with Girlschool and I’m more than a little familiar with the guys who hail from my neck of the woods. They’re up against it following the local heroes on stage they play a short and impressive set which certainly grabbed the interest of many of the York crowd. NG26 are a hard working band who deserve a big break and touring with the likes of Girlschool might just workout for them, it was a shame they couldn’t play for longer though with four bands on tonight time is of the essence.

The time is nigh and with a trademark long intro, Girlschool eventually start their show with, wait for it… Demolition (what not C’mon Let’s Go?) yes Demolition is played out to a packed venue who are very ‘up’ for the show. C’mon Let’s Go however is the second song and by the time that is over Girlschool can do no wrong here in York. Playing a mix of old and new songs, The Hunter (rarely played live) Not For Sale, Screaming Blue murder and Yeah Right the pick of the old while I Spy, Never Say Never, Everything’s The Same and  Crazy being the pick of the new. Vocal duties are shared out between Kim Mc Auliffe (lead guitar) Enid Williams (bass) and Jackie Chambers (lead guitar) While as ever on the drums is the incomparable Denise Dufort (thanks guest listing me Den). Tonight’s performance is for once fairly trouble free of gremlins, a slight buzzing noise at one point being the only incident and believe me it wouldn’t be a Girlschool show without something going wrong. Finishing their dynamic set with Race With The Devil and Emergency, both trademark songs the girls exit stage right to riotous applause only to return to play an encore of Take It All Away (their first ever single). The Belles of British heavy metal show no sign of slowing down, it’s a mere thirty something years since it all began for the girls, for now it’s mission accomplished in Yorkshire next week it’s onto Manchester and London… Cheers you lot… GD. 

From Nashville With Love…

Skinny Molly (The Flowerpot Derby) 04/02/12…

Although having heard of Skinny Molly somehow I’ve failed spectacularly to see them live which is a major oversight on my behalf as they tend to play the flowerpot in Derby every year. This time however I’ve purchased ticket number one to see the Nashville based band whose name is an amalgam of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet. Why this turn of events you may ask, well, back in November last year legendary southern rock band Blackfoot appeared at the flowerpot fronted by Skinny Molly’s Mike Estes, his performance on that occasion sold tonight’s show for me.

Skinny Molly have been over in the UK for a couple of weeks and tonight sees the Tennessee band traversing near arctic conditions to reach the west midlands city of Derby. I’ve only just managed to get to the venue myself sadly I’m in a minority, the turn out is woeful due to the heavy snow. This state of affairs doesn’t faze the southern rockers, as they take to the stage the small crowd make them more than welcome. Mike Estes along with Jay Johnson take on the lead guitar duties between them and although Mike sings most of the songs Jay holds sway on songs such as Blackfoot’s ‘fly away’. The rhythm section are Kurt Pietro (drums) who was also in the Blackfoot line-up that played here back in November and Luke Bradshaw (bass) the quartet work well together and waste no time at all getting the sparse crowd to forget the fowl weather outside.

With some great rockin’ numbers like Devil in the bottle’, ‘simple man’ and ‘whiskey, cocaine and blues’ to name just three Skinny Molly create a party atmosphere thanks mainly to Mike Estes’ wry sense of humour. His southern drawl is easy on the ear as he raconteurs gems like ‘this song’s for anyone who’s gone through three divorces and come out with their Harley in tact’ he keeps telling us ‘yaall arrsome’ and thanking us for making the effort to turn up in the extreme weather.

‘Will you all please stand for our national anthem’ announces Mike a split second before cracking into the opening strains of ‘sweet home Alabama’ a true crowd pleaser. Free’s ‘wishing well’ and Steve Earle’s ‘copperhead road’ were two other covers that went down well along with the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song ‘Freebird’.

After the show I took the time to have a chat with both Jay and Mike mainly about the fate of the band Blackfoot (they’ve both played in that band at some point) it’s a long, sad story and I’m not getting into it here. Anyway back to Skinny Molly and the guys head off to Southampton tomorrow then fly to Europe weather permitting after that. ‘That silver bird is gonna take me away’… GD.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (Part One)…

Teenage Casket Co, (New Inn Ilkeston) 20/01/12…

It’s hard to believe that the first time I saw Teenage Casket Company was seven years ago, they filled the support slot at the now defunct Potters venue in Langley Mill to an Aerosmith tribute band. The bass player (Rob Lane) I already knew from the band Dip amongst others but the other three guys were all unfamiliar to me. It’s fair to say after they’d played a couple of songs many in the audience were hooked on their brand of glam/pop/punk rock, catchy riffs and sleazy lyrics, TCC had arrived! The headliners that night have been totally erased from my memory but I went on to see and listen to the likely lads of TCC many more times over the next few years and not always in the same band.

Tonight’s gig at the new inn Ilkeston may well be fulfilling a seven year itch for me, having taken their collective eyes of the ball TCC experienced several fallow years. This state of affairs arose from all the band members seemingly wanting to diversify and play with other bands. But they returned to the fray minus one band member so these days the trimmed down TCC go out as a three piece. The afore mentioned Rob Lane (bass) along with Spike (drums) and Rob Wylde (lead guitar/lead vox) sound a little different to when they were knocking on the door of stardom a few years back. Their album ‘dial it up’ and supper EP ‘eat your heart out’ should have broken them onto the international scene but alas it never quite happened for Nottingham’s nay, the UK’s ‘best kept secret’ who seemed to have fallen by the wayside. Until now perhaps, their live set still includes many of the classic songs from their first two discs along with some new material most notably the song ‘best friend is my radio’ fans old and new have turned up in droves to the new inn to cheer them on. With all their trials and tribulations surely this time the likely lads of TCC, older and wiser can make that breakthrough they were searching for back in the day.  With a new single and video ‘without you’ being released on Valentine’s Day 2012 TCC just may well pull it off after all… GD.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (Part Two)…

JD & The FDCs (Sitwell Tavern Derby) 27/01/12…

Seven days later finds me in Derby to see JD & The FDCs at the Sitwell tavern, the JD stands for Jamie Delerict (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) whom I first met seven years ago at that aforementioned gig at Potters. JD was then a member of Teenage Casket Co. these days he fronts his own band the FDCs consisting of Daz Mondo (lead guitar) Joey Strange (bass) and Danny Gunn (drums) all of whom funnily enough have ‘stood in’ for various Teenage Casket Co. personnel on at least one gig (GD trivia fact) and all of which have previously made their mark in two of the east midlands most memorable rock bands Dip and Patchwork Grace. JD & The FDCs may have emerged from the shadows of three popular bands but they have already stamped their own collective identity on the scene with some great songs like ‘tie me up (tie me down)’, ‘monsoon is now’ and ‘burn this city down’ all delivered live with a snarling punk attitude synonymous with Jamie’s former performances in TCC and The Dangerfields. I spoke to JD after the Sitwell show and although there may be some regrets about the split with his former band and the fact that TCC were millimetres away from major success the bottom line is JD & The FDCs are ‘never gonna stop’ and if you don’t believe me check out their video of the same name on YouTube (http://youtu.be/RPVodo5pNKw?hd=1).

So summing up then, whatever happened to the likely lads? Well they may be a little older and hopefully a little wiser but one thing for sure they’re still out there with attitude, writing and performing new songs, they may well say to the music establishment, ‘you ain’t got nothin’ on me’ and indeed ‘thank you for nothing’ but with a determined effort and the support of their many fans let’s hope that they remain a secret no longer and hit it big before the passage of another seven years… GD.