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On the first day of (the ever-lengthening pre-amble to) Christmas, my true love gave to me... A set of Bendy Monsters.
The Bendy Monsters support: Avarice Saturday 19 December 1998 at 9.00pm Tickets: Darnall Music Factory 0114 2444603 go down... I mean read below.. |
The Bendy Monsters played their much-anticipated comeback gig at a
"safe" house; The Grapes, Sheffield - their old stomping ground.
Defying any "advice" given from well-meaning critics, they stick to their Sheffield roots. The Bendies are a Sheffield kind of band - with a twist (a Bend?).
On the surface all urbane charm, but lurking beneath the veneer of witty banter and camaraderie beats the heart of darkness.
Punk for the Millennium.
Kicking off for the first half, Sheffield band Avarice play a tight
set. The 3-man outfit comprising Tim Crow, Paul Brownley and Dave Greaves
(guitar/vocals, bass/backing vocals, drums) owe a little to Green Day
in style.
They warm up the penny-conscious pre-Christmas crowd with a blinding mix of
original material and Green Day covers.
Time for a beer and a packet of Walkers before the Main Event. And it is.
An Event.
Run-down:
| Pat (Tongue) Hancock | Vocals |
| Dom (Mouth) Bradshaw | Lead guitar |
| Chris (Legs) Wainwright | Bass |
| Andy (Fingers) Fjord | Keys |
The Monsters, with a beer-fuelled sugar-rush, launch into "I Know You've Got Soul". Yes, they still have it
They steam through numbers from their "Top Trumps" and "The P45 Sessions" albums.
"Dear Michaela" and crowd-pleaser "The A To Z Of Dead Celebrities" are played acoustically due to Chris and Andy's poor beer-consumption scheduling.
A To Z still bites. Quintessentially English, it name-drops like Baz Bamigboye on speed, but has a black humour so dark it eats your children!
Dom! Send me this sound file.
By the time the full line-up belts out "Cloughie's Greenhouse", Pat's Lemsip is wearing off (he has the 'flu), so Dom chips in to beef up the vocals.
The end of the night and the audience is happy. Very happy. And the Monsters? Do they hang around signing autographs and receiving plaudits?
Nah! As Dom says "Seen it all, DONE it all, walking home." That's right Dom. Don't lose your (driving) license!
(Updated 26 December 1999)
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