“Burning the candle at both ends.” Live Review - The Marquee Club on 29/03/05

Lock Tavern with Simon Delinquent; chips n' cheeze n' mayo n' chilli sauce, line the stomach. Burning the candle at both ends, dinners consist of shite lager and chips where I can get em, breakfasts non-existent (you can't eat cereal on a Staropramen hangover). Tonight we're off to Kentish Town. Just up the road, says I. We'll walk, says I. Well we did, and we walked up Chalk Farm Road?!?!?! Muppet, fuckin' muppet. Simon - 'I just thought you knew where you were going'. Get tube, back to Camden, up to the right place, out the tube and down to the Bull & Gate for...

Small Town America? Record label or philanthropists? 'Get Involved' the mantra. It's a Public Service Broadcast - unsigned bands, two compilation albums (PSB #2 & #3) launch party, the promise of four fine bands from four corners of the UK (is that a corner each then?)...

Panda Love Unit: Spiky, really spiky. Pavement says some blurb, noisy Seafood says I, Simon Delinquent agrees. Things go wrong, samplers are RUBBISH when broken - give guitarist credit, he sings the samples?!?! Yet the shambolic suits. quietLOUDLOUDquietLOUDLOUD. Hurricanes are shambolic, and they're well cool. Just like PLU...

Harvey Half Devoured: Is it a kids book? Melanie Jane & Darren Delinquent appear, it's almost a band night out. Three girls, one non-girl, all the way from Hull. Non lo-fi Breeders, catchy start. Tooooo much Sonic Youth, cries Darren. Is too much SY bad - let Stewart G comment. Northern humour, engage your audience, that's the ticket. Songs merge after a while, but we like...

Fickle Public drove down from Glasgow. They are 12 years old. One is from Elgin. And I like them a lot. MJ & D disappear, 'too loud'. Nah, fast Mogwai with vocals. Bruises, shifts, squirms, muscles a space on the tube. They've picked up the torch once held aloft by Quicksand, and they're trying to burn us with it...

Ivory Springer: honesty time, too busy talking gig tactics with Melanie Jane and Darren, didnae see them. Idiot reviewer, apologies to all. But if they were at the top of that bill, I'd probably have liked them, that's the best I can do.

Good gig, consistent sound, Panda Love Unit - band of the night. Back to Brum with them, back to Balham with me. Poke of chips in hand...

© Artrocker 2005