real shocks at the moorings - aberdeen-music

Aileen · 29-05-2004, 14:05

not really my kind of music but pretty funky nonetheless, if a bit samey. vocals were ace, synth thing (???) sounded cool

reminded me of a cross between something from return to the forbidden planet and the rocky horror show (which is a good thing)

would have been ace if sharon had worn glasses too, i liked that!!!

also, the pills were ace last night

29-05-2004, 21:56

yeah, real shocks were good. the singer stephen (?) had the amazing talent of being able to sing like a bloke and a girl. cuts were quite good, i didn't really listen to the pills to be honest and josephine were good as usual.

Alan Cynic · 29-05-2004, 23:21

I wanted to ree Real Shocks and the Cuts, but couldn't make it as I was playing too.

When & where is the next Real Shocks gig?

Flash@TMB · 30-05-2004, 12:11

This could turn out pretty long winded...

Firstly that was some fuckin line up!!!

The running order may have seemed a little unorthadox but we wanted to be sure that there were plenty of people still around to see The Pills, because A) they came all the way from Boston, B) it was the last night of their tour, C) This was their only Scottish date, and D) they are fuckin phenominal.

But first to Real Shocks. It was almost a year since Real Shocks last played The Moorings. That was just after Lester joined when they had 2 synths, but she didn't make that gig.

I always liked Real Shocks, but the band I witnessed on Saturday just blew me away. This was a band absolutely on top of their game. The dual call & response vocals are great, the playing was far more agressive, they've gone from being Bugs Bunny to Tom & Jerry if you follow my drift. The performance was incredibly tight, you couldn't slip a baa hair between any of the players. The sound is absolutely unique now, even more so than before. The drumming had a lot more attack, and I loved the little rolls and fills they added a lot.

This semi pro stint and tour seems to have done wonders for Real Shocks. The confidence really shone through. Under normal circumstances this would have been an awesome headline act. The sooner they play The Moorings again the better. To anyone that missed them on Sat then be sure and catch this band soon!

The downside was that they were an extremely tough act to follow. I didn't envy the Cuts job - to go on after that performance took guts. In fact for a relatively new band like the Cuts to agree to appear in a line up of pro bands was very brave.

In a less exhalted line up the Cuts would have really shone. They are one of those bands that have that 11pm vibe about them. Hard to pigeon hole, the closest I can come up with is Patti Smith on her slower tracks. The crowd responded really well, and their material was exceptionally good. There's a lot of promise here. The Cuts deserve more gigs and we'd be only too happy yo supply some of those.

Then came the Pills. Fucken hell they were brilliant. If punk rock had existed in the 60s this is what it would have sounded like. Sort of a cross between Wheezer and The Beach Boys. The attacked their set list like the Ramones barely pausing to draw breath between the numbers. I only hope they heard the clapping and cheering because it was well earned. The structure of their tunes, almost any of them could be classed as stand out, with 3 lead vocals etc necessitated extremely tight playing. The live performance is not a million miles from how they sound on CD either. I think they sold a lot of CDs on Sat... coming to our jukebox soon, unfortunately they had sold out of 1 album by the time we reached the front of the queue!!!

If you can find a Pills album in the shops then buy it!

Josephine really had their work cut out for them after the ampetamine pop of the Pills. On any normal night Josephine would have blown us away, but coming on fourth AND after the Pills was an extremely tall order. Once again this is a VERY tight and professional outfit. They did carry it off, and I was getting right into them once I managed to comne down of my Pills trip. In my opinion the last tune in particular was a masterpiece. The lead vocal on Josephine is a little reminisant of the B52s, but the music itself is more rocky/punky. I'd really like to see Josephine back soon as the headline act in a smaller line up where we can get them on stage a little earlier. Josephine supported by the Cuts would be an interesting prospect. I've got a copy of their album too so we'll stick it in the jukebox so I can get a proper listen.

All in all this was a great night, if anything there was too much of a good thing.

Lester Burnham · 30-05-2004, 12:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan Cynic:
I wanted to ree Real Shocks and the Cuts, but couldn't make it as I was playing too.

When & where is the next Real Shocks gig?

Camden in London... June 5th, but I'm guessing you're meaning lo-cal. So......

Go North thingy

June 9th Dr Drakes, Late night... ish.

Yes yes....

Aileen - I do sometimes wear shades, but that blasted hat makes my life hell (makes my head way too hat, and wearing glasses with it just adds up to too much sweat). Alas next gig quiffs and shades may occur.

And also thanks to everyone for the micro reviews. Muchos appreciated.

Flash: As always it's always a pleasure for Shocks to play the Moorings.

betamax · 31-05-2004, 14:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Aileen:
reminded me of a cross between something from return to the forbidden planet and the rocky horror show (which is a good thing)

yay! ...someones spotted the 'stage musical' - ness in the way we konstruct songs.....not many people notice that, but its deliberate....lots of double choruses and micro drama bits all just running together like a mini musical
we would have had a filmshow too to complement proceedings but technikal hitches got in le way