In one of the most bizarre pairings in recent memory, Saturday night saw me attending a show featuring Australian guitar poppers Rocket Science supporting Norwegian GWAR-alikes Turbonegro. What the hell is that? Thatís crack smoking in the booking office, thatís what that is. No mind, though, as I had only planned to catch the Science and head out into the night. The Australian quartet, whose track ìHeavy Trafficî featured on Player .041, while their single, ìBeing Followed,î appeared on the DVD for Player .043, were a whirlwind live. Whereas on record they came across as a very Squeeze-like pop act, live, they were the second coming of The Who, adding Hammond organ. The ë60s vibe was much more heavy and the guitar was much more in your face, both factors adding heaps of quality to already catchy pop tracks. Even the organ-funk of ìBeing Followedî was amped up and the bonus rocking was greatly appreciated. When these kids come to the States, make sure not to miss them. You will be missing out on something special, indeed.
As I said, I planned on leaving after Rocket Science, but ended up sticking around for Turbonegro. I have no idea what that was, but I know like six heavy-duty rock & rollers took the stage, each one wearing a different hat, and they proceeded to rock me into submission. No idea what any of the tracks were called, but I know that on one of them, the lead singer screamed ìEverybody, sell your body, to the night,î he crowd went mental. I also know that there was some song where he asked for call and response on what I expect was called ìI Got Erection,î and I know that Iím glad I wasnít down front, because a bunch of those crazies got a bucket of fake blood dumped on them. They kept jumping around and grinning like loons afterwards, however, so I suppose they rather liked it! Carl from The Libertines was in the house, seemingly enjoying the proceedings, as well as Senior of Junior Senior. They probably had a better idea of what was going on, but it was definitely an entertaining gig, to say the least.
