ManGoneBlog, Review: Psycho Motel IX 1st Birthday Freakout

Review: Psycho Motel IX 1st Birthday Freakout

09/12/11 @ The Kazimier - Phil Oskoui

DIRTBLONDE/RICKY SPONTANE/LOVECRAFT/POISONED ELECTRICK HEAD

I have been hearing strange things about Psycho Motel for a while now. Legend has it that it was started in the bedroom of one of the lads out of the fabled Zombina (and the Skeletones), the darkly humoured punk band that has been doing the rounds and becoming cult like to all things freakish in Liverpool for years now. By my own calculations, that must have been about a year ago now and it looks like this monthly clubnight has gone from strength to strength as it takes its debut in the amazing Kazimier on a chilly December Friday night…

So we enter the Kazimier and it’s like we’ve stepped back to Halloween. Skeletons hang from the ceiling; cobwebs cover most of the banisters and tables. There is a projection screen behind the stage throwing dark and unfamiliar images from cult horror films and other possible sources of weird footage. It reminds me of something you might see in a film like The Lost Boys where all the vampires hang out after getting their midnight meal. To be honest, I am pretty sure I saw a couple of bloodsucking night creatures while there. The clientele complimented the surrounding décor perfectly. Think geeks and freaks, a blood stained mummy stumbles past me, half cut. There’s a gaggle of girls dressed in weird Alice in Wonderland-esque costume, all covered in (I hope) fake blood. I spy a few military styled dancers hanging around by the front of the stage, girls in German army jackets, Kinky? There definitely is something in the air tonight, confirmed when one of the more freakier characters called ‘Wayne’ told me had only came because someone in his work had told him it was a fetish night! He wasn’t that far off either.

So on to the music, and it was Dirtblonde who were starting the nights entertainment. A duo who have definitely come from the darker influences of punk and early rock. Heavily reliant on distorted, fuzzy guitar sounds and simple vocal arrangements. They reminded me of Joy Division, The Ramones, even a bit of the Strokes. The female vocals lead you on a bleak soundtrack to bad memories and you won’t come away from a Dirtblonde gig feeling elated in any way. But their brand of dark and sincere punk tinged rock is unique and I can’t help but think that, if Dirtblonde were in a club in NY in the eighties, then these would be more of a household name. That doesn’t mean that this band live in obscurity, far from it. Having played in various countries around the world, and gaining an underground fan base in Liverpool, Dirtblonde will be gracing the darker side of all of us for the foreseeable future.

The Last Refuge by Ricky Spontane by RickySpontane

Wearing a fishing cap and looking low key, Ritchie Batchelor (lead vocals) takes to the stage with an energy unmatched by any of the other bands tonight. Ricky Spontane are the band, and they begin how they mean to go on with a high tempo opener that has Mr. Batchelor bouncing around the stage looking like he is filming an exercise video. The band reminds me of that Madness driven sound that was everywhere a couple of decades ago. Where the tropical sound of reggae clashed with the street sounds of punk to give us that unmistakable British sound that was so popular in the eighties. Ricky Spontane are a multinational band who have been around for a while now. And while they aren’t really my cup of tea, I can see why people like these and why they are still around.

The very talented Lovecraft were on next. Dressed like pagan ritualists, the girls in white, baptism style gowns are a focal checkpoint on stage. Craig Sinclair (lead vocalist) looking as sharp as a mach 3. This band know what they want and how to get it. Their style of synth driven, hymn like pop songs are tight and well rehearsed. The harmonies by the two backing vocalists added another layer of surrealism to their set. Their songs shift from disco driven, light hearted mayhem to dark and sincere melancholy. It would be hard to try and pigeon hole this band and I would probably insult them if I tried to guess any influences behind their eclectic musicality, but I enjoyed them. So should you, check them out.

By this point of the night, alcohol had started to get the better of everyone and the atmosphere was one of chaos and frivolity. A bit like a warped circus show. So it was no surprise when the headliners Poisoned Electrick Head took to the stage looking like they had just come from an Area 51 convention. The lead singer was dressed as what I can only describe as an alien on acid. The rest of the band following suit in the strangest (and scariest) concoctions of what might be described as ‘dark fancy dress’. I have never heard of this band but I learn they formed in 1986 and are a form of theatre punk space rock. They were definitely one of the heavier bands of the night, riffs, distorted guitars and heavy basslines led the way with some synth mayhem thrown in there to add to the chaos. Again, not really my cup of tea and I have to admit some of the theatrics were lost on me but then again it has been a long time since I last dropped acid and there was definitely some drug infused influences on stage that night. To sum them up though, take some Zappa and throw in a bit of Beefheart with lots of narcs and you will get somewhere close to the psych punk lesson we were all taught on the night.

And there we are, Psycho Motel done and dusted. It wasn’t what I expected it to be like, it was better. For all intents and purposes, Psycho Motel will never be a mainstream clubnight, and quite rightly so too. The people who go to this are anti establishment. The kind that would rather die than set foot in Concert Square, even in the daytime (myself included there). It was full of freaks, but the vibe in there was really friendly and warm and the crowd were so into what was going on that you couldn’t help but enjoy yourself, a bit like one of the night time areas in Glastonbury (Shangri La, Arcadia etc). I will definitely be going to the next one, and the one after and so on. In the current musical climate in Liverpool, with all the Mumford inspired folk bands diluting each other, it was refreshing to see something a bit (or a lot) different and I hope this night continues to cater to the darker sides of our freakish friends.

Words: Phil Oskoui

Links:

Dirtblonde

http://dirtblonde.co.uk/

http://www.last.fm/music/Dirtblonde

Ricky Spontane

http://www.rickyspontane.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ricky-Spontane/180501442015554

Lovecraft

http://www.facebook.com/Lovecraftmusic

http://lovecraftmusic.bandcamp.com/

Poisoned Electrick Head