Household Name Records Xmas Party
Sun 7th December
Brixton Windmill
Ah, Household Name. One of the true institutions of the UK punk rock scene. The best UK label for longer than your grandmother can remember. You all know what bands they given us in the past. Well, on this cold but sunny Sunday afternoon in Brixton town, we had a showcase of their current roster, and a barbecue that I stupidly missed out on due to eating just before I arrived. (Someone else can review the food. I?m not sure it would be fair for a vegan reviewing a barbecue anyway.)
The lineup was lengthy, but sadly not quite as advertised. Former Cell Mates did not play, which was very disappointing as I?ve never seen ?em, and You Me And The Atom Bomb were off too. But, the afternoon was still kicked off by those cheeky chappies, 2 piece Londonites Apologies, I Have None. They are a drum kit, some chords strummed on a trebley guitar and 2-part, sing-along vocals. They are something a bit different, and can write a fine tune or two. They told me they weren?t quite on form tonight, and asked me not to review them (lesson 1: tell me that, I will), but a couple of nervous moments aside, these boys are onto something real nice. A tip for 2009 I reckon.
Next up were 2 Exeter bands, The Dead City Stereo (drafted in to replace the bands who pulled out) and The Cut Ups. DCS have a real nice, polished rock sound going on. Everything reeked of Old-school 3 Colours Red to me, which is just wonderful news. The Cut Ups followed up (their album is out on HHN in the new year) with a gruff sound that reminds me of a band I love, Small Brown Bike, but they struggled a bit following the bigger sound of The Dead City Stereo and they lost me a bit mid way through.
I already reviewed the Arteries not too long ago, supporting Smoke or Fire. They played just as blistering a set as before (ok, let?s be honest, pretty much the same set), but me and my mates were nodding heads inanely like the Churchill Dog throughout. These boys have whatever ?it? is. Most of the crowd seemed to already know that too.
The Arteries must be tough act to follow, but the Zatopeks were my solid gold tip for the evening. They came on, plain up owned the place. Literally owned it. Having seen Sebby, the guitarist at many a show, even my own ones, I know that they live and breathe the scene, and their philosophy seems to be have fun, look how you want, play quick and fuck what anyone thinks about any of those things. The tunes are fucking ace too. A bit like Street Dogs mixed up with All and a little bit of the Beach Boys. The singer spent most of the set in the crowd, the rest of them just play like a fucking machine. Catch them when they come round again.
Last up were Milloy. Last time I saw them they were clearly drunk and they do the bravado thing damn well. Mix the two and you have dynamite. Tonight they were a bit more down the line. Still with the odd bit of crowd abuse and vocals that could cut through glass mind. They have some clever tunes too. All they were lacking tonight was the party atmosphere that ended at the end of the Zatopeks set.
This lot are all the class of 2009 for HHN. Will be a good year I reckon.
Mike