
A post-punk triple bill last Saturday night, with me revisiting a couple of familiar acts plus one never seen live before.
First came a familiar band, Statesiders Vision Video, with a new keyboardist (complete with fishnets and teddy bear mascots) in tow. Frontman Dusty Gannon, though vocal between songs as usual, keeps the political commentary fairly light this time—surprising given recent electoral events on his side of the pond—sticking to an impassioned anti-war speech to introduce ‘Kandahar’. Musical highlights included newbies ‘Dead Gods’ and ‘Balaclava Kiss’, the singalong-inspiring cover of Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’, and anthemic set closer ‘In My Side’. A solid start.

Then came a step into uncharted waters with The Membranes, and only having heard their five-disc compilation of their earliest material, Everyone’s Going Triple-Bad Acid, Yeah!, I half-expected, hoped, to hear tunes such as ‘Cor, Blimey! Ain’t England Snidey’ and ‘Tatty Seaside Town’; in stark departure from most ’80s-prominent acts, however, they chose to focus on their more modern material, even to the point of including yet-unreleased tracks, like ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ and ‘Spooky Dancing in the UK’. Frontman/bassist/journalist/author John Robb, at sprightly 63, proved summat of a human dynamo, pacing, high-kicking, and waving his bass around the stage and at the audience; he and his post-punk bass stylings were well-served by a strong instrumental accompaniment from the other members of a band, including the veiled lady on keyboards who added some pleasingly eerie backing vocals to the likes of ‘What Nature Gives… Nature Takes Away’, ‘Church Bells’, and ‘Deep in the Forest Where the Memories Linger’. Worth witnessing at least once. Twice if they headline.

Speaking of headliners, I was once again disappointed to not hear ‘Less Than Human’ and ‘Thursday’s Child’, two of my favourite Chameleons deep cuts, on the setlist; then again, those two are from Script of the Bridge, the first, and my favourite, Chameleons album, and the spotlight was well and truly on Strange Times, the band’s third album, for the bulk of the setlist. In any case, Mark Burgess and his merry men put on a spirited, soulful show, so much so that it really did seem like the frontman was trying to jettison his life force through the mic at certain points. Highlights included new track ‘Everyday, I’m Crucified’, which sees the band reacquainted with the menacing basslines of a certain opening track from Script, a moody ‘Tears’, and a rather engaging extended rendition of ‘Soul in Isolation’, but it was the encore that made my day above all, with the abrasive ‘In Shreds’, the philosophical ‘Monkeyland’, Mark performing a self-exorcism during ‘Second Skin’, and, of course, ‘Don’t Fall’, that “certain opening track” I mentioned, the one that put this band on my radar, closing the night, Mark embracing the audience towards its end.

In short another searingly strong Chameleons set. Makes me even more eager hoping to see (and hear) those favourite deep cuts of mine being dusted off for a future tour.
~MRDA~
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