Pure Punk Goodness

Rachael Neiman on Partyline, Trouble Vs Glue, Vile Vile Creatures and Bobby-Haired Bandits at Manchester’s Retro Bar

May 2 2007  

By the time we arrived at Retro Bar for this highly-anticipated gig the room was already pretty full and it was good to see so many people making the effort to turn out in mid-week. Unfortunately we arrived too late to catch new Manchester band Bobbed-Haired Bandits, who are creating a bit of a buzz and feature Vic and Beck, the ladies behind Manchester’s premiere club night, Killing Fantasy. We did, however arrive in time to catch Vile Vile Creatures, also hailing from Manchester, a three-piece we’ve been lucky enough to catch live before who’s recent Faux Feminism EP is ace.

VVC are loud and fast and compelling, and though there is an obvious comparison to Bikini Kill to be made, they inject enough of their own style and personality into their songs to make them stand out from some of the other BK wannabes. Though there’s a definite riot grrrl vane running through all their songs, there is a subtle musical variety on a dual rail. Amongst the energetic drumming and angry guitar work, Jenny’s voice, though half buried in the fabulous noise, is, if not unique, perfectly in synch with the intensity and urgency of the music, at times even reminiscent of Chay from Holland’s Suicidal Birds, high praise indeed! And, if that doesn’t convince you, Das Wanderlust are VVC fans, need I say more? Visit them at www.myspace.com/vilevilecreatures and blow kisses.

Next on we have Italy’s Trouble Bs Glue, who have been accompanying Partyline on much of their European tour. Now, seeing as this band have been described as “yelp along electropop”, I was of course intrigued and excited about seeing them. Unfortunately there was a disappointing lack of yelping and precious little Pop to speak of. Instead what we got was a fairly uninspiring set of songs which made very little impact, failing even to make me want to dance, the songs were very samey and the vocals formulaic, the first song they played, far from sounding like the marvellous ‘Bruno and Michel are Smiling’ (which is what I’d been hoping for) ended up sounding like Aqua, and this was the high point of the set. From this point on they descended into a sludge of uninspired mediocrity. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all!

Then came the headliners Partyline. On this tour drummer Crystal Bradley (who was unable to join them) was replaced by guitarist Angela Melkisethian’s little brother. Now, for those of you who don’t know, while Partyline only formed in 2004 they have a mighty riot grrrl pedigree, with Allison Wolfe having been a member of the legendary Bratmobile. So the sizeable and friendly Wednesday audience were understandably quite excitable by the time the band came on stage.

They seemed very relaxed and happy, talking for about five minutes before they started playing, recounting their experiences of such English delights as eating Twiglets and chocolate Hobnobs and buying leg-warmers for ｣1 from TK Max. The talkativeness remained throughout the gig and while between song banter is always fun, I think they talked for almost as long, if not longer than they played! However, it’s a good thing that they explained what some of the songs were about as the vocals were pretty indistinguishable, a great shame as Partyline boast some very powerful and well written lyrics on a range of political issues dealing with the destructive nature of the Bush administration and the struggle for bodily autonomy. But their light touch means that they still never become preachy.

The set comprised a set of largely short, sharp noisy bursts of pure punk goodness, very catchy, very danceable and a tremendous amount of fun. Unfortunately, Partyline’s live sound lacks something of the variety of their recordings. On record while all the raw riot grrrl glorious noise-pop is still very much in evidence, it is contrasted with shades of pure Pop a la Dressy Bessy which truly adds another dimension that sadly lacks in their live performance. Still, the band played a highly enjoyable and energetic set which the audience certainly seemed to lap up and which was just the ticket for dispelling those mid-week blues.

www.myspace.com/partylinegirlswithglasses

All in all a memorable gig, and a sign that relatively new Manchester gig promoters Female Trouble, have a lot to offer the city’s live music scene. www.myspace.com/femaletroublemanchester

© 2007 Rachael Neiman

Rachael Neiman presents a regular show on Dandelion Radio and runs the Cherryade label from deepest Blackpool, boasting releases from The Bobby McGees and Tiger MCs.

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