GIG REVIEW ::: THEY CAME FROM THE STARS : EUGENE MACHINE : THE SHARMILLS : BB GUNN

Current mood: ENLIGHTENED
Category: ENLIGHTENED Dreams and the Supernatural

BB Gun

The Sharmills

Eugene Machine

They Came From the Stars I Saw Them

@Gingliks 22^nd March 2007

Gingliks is the sort of place where men used to go to find other men. I'm not talking about a Working Mens Club. No, Gingliks is a converted public toilet in the aptly named Shepherds Bush.

Weird that.

Not the Shepherds Bush bit, but the whole toilet cruising business. I mean I know being gay wasn't easily done in years gone by, but why public toilets? Why not art galleries or museums or somewhere else a little less dark and unhaunted by the smell of industrial strength cleaning chemicals??

Well, weirdness is about the only thing this gig had in common with the buildings former use. You see this night ended strangely, but let's not get ahead of ourselves…

Everything started as you might expect. BB Gun was first on and he delivered a selection of songs that whistled along much like the wind. No shit. They gently gusted, ebbing and flowing and I liked them a lot….

The Sharmills were next. It's a week later as I write this up and I'm still not sure what I make of them. They've got a kind of PJ Harvey meets Kate Bush at the rock opera thing going on. I mean, the songs didn't really grab me but they sounded pretty original and the front woman looked stunning. I really want to like them, yet I remain even now not totally convinced.

The strangely named Eugene Machine, hosts and organisers, followed on. Here we're talking a funk robotic electro thing and boy did they execute it well. The sound was double bass loud heavy, and dead funky phat with it. The tunes themselves were competent and strong and everything was just smart down the line. This lot are a class act, go and take a look next time they're in town…

And so to the headliners…

For my money 'they came from the stars I saw them' are one of, if not the most interesting band of the moment.

You see you've got everything with the 'stars' There's no guitars other than a bass, there's a mountain of electronic bliss from Jupiter, a clarinet, a saxophone, gay masters, white robes and cacaphonic glory reigning from the speakers like the holy Jesus spirit minus the dogma.

Yes boss, it was them I'd gone to Shepherds Bush to see and I assumed that would be the case with most of the crowd. So, you can imagine my surprise and disgust when I noticed half had gone home to beddy byes before the 'stars' had even strummed their first electropic chord.

Now, if there's one thing that annoys me on this lonely and dear little planet we live on it's people leaving events early. Whether it be football matches or gigs this whole 'Oh, I've got to home to my boring shitty life rather than risk oversleeping tomorrow' is pure catshit and I'd like to take this welcome opportunity to publicly admonish all of you who practice it.

I mean what's the fucking point? You've paid to get in and something special could happen and you'd rather get the last friggin tube home so you're up bright and fresh for you're damn work….

I shouldn't get so upset, but I honestly think that people who leave gigs early should be beheaded on their way out, especially when the headliner is the 'stars'.

So, the gig???

Well, I won't lie and say the 'stars' set went as smoothly as planned. There was tension and there was equipment with it's own agenda and by the impromptu end there can't have been more than 10 clever people left in the room.

Horton Jupiter said it was one of the worst times he'd ever spent on a stage and when Sculpture threw his bass on the floor as the final act of frustration, it seemed that the sky had maybe just fallen in a little on the stars..

But despite the myths and the stories, the sky never really falls in on anyone and the 'stars' still sparkled with the kind of energy and ideas that most bands are too simple to even imagine, let alone perform live on stage.

One thing is sure, you can't keep a good band down for long and despite the problems it was a blinding set of the sort of musical chaos that makes this band so very special.

So, if you weren't one of the ten and you weren't at the 333 last night you've missed out on this particular feast twice in a week and you should be thoroughly ashamed.

Make sure it doesn't keep happening....

Currently listening : What Are We Doing Here? By They Came from the Stars I Saw Them Release date: By 01 July, 2003

Currently listening : What Are We Doing Here? By They Came from the Stars I Saw Them Release date: By 01 July, 2003

16:14 - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	they came from the stars, i saw them	wow! thankyou very much mister. although the bad time on the stage wasn't the result of people leaving, it was my godawful personal life! People leaving did exacerbate the situation a little, but you can't hold it agin them too much - you're right, the school night excuse is a load of toss, but i don't think it's that so much as the fact that missing the last tube would mean most of the crowd would have to get TWO NIGHT BUSES to get home, and how Boring is that? Uncle Boring and his Boring Wife, i'd say... Posted by they came from the stars, i saw them on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 14:35 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Oh fuck, I love nightbuses...Full of nutters and drunks...Brilliant...Give me nightbuses and a walkman and the 'stars' ahead of the Tube anyday of the damn week... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 14:43 [Remove] [Reply to this]

	horton jupiter	i love nightbuses too, and sometimes am the nutter myself. but you gotta admit that TWO nightbuses is bollocks on account of the not knowing WHEN, and TWICE. Christ it's painful! Having said that we should take your mate Michelle on some sort of night bus hell tour when she rolls up. that'll learn her. Posted by horton jupiter on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 02:53 [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but I can't let practicalities enter my thoughts when pursuing good art...Everyone should go and see 'the stars' regardless of the consequences - Shit if the nightbusses are the problem camp on the firggin green or pull someone who lives more local or pay for a taxi or use a bike... Good idea with Michelle - If she ever makes it over here we should give her a bus pass and tell her bus parties are where it's at. It'll be a novelty, I don't think they have busses in Hollywood.... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on Monday, April 16, 2007 at 10:46 [Remove] [Reply to this]