The Firefly, Worcester - 25.05.12
Wel,l maybe just to prove a little point - the only venues I went to this week were the three within twenty yards of each other in Worcester's Lowesmoor area - and what a fantastic selection of the best of Hereford and Worcester music I caught at the Brewery Tap, The Pig 'n' Drum and tonight's main venue - the CAMRA award-winning Firefly.
Blame for the unholy racket that exploded on your wireless can be laid firmly at the feet of noisy duo Das Sexy Clap - who simply have to be one of the best acts to have hit our scene in the last year. Front-man Chris Wemyss has a great history with acts like And What Will Be Left Of Them?, Joe Patroni, Girls On Film and Evilwitch when he's wielding the sticks - but he's got a rock-solid guitar style and the partnership with drummer Katy Birch works magnificently on numbers like Rats and Push It In Break It Off.
Possibly the highlight of the evening was the long-overdue return, to our region, of the enigmatic Kris Foster and his new outfit Thyme Machine. The Lancaster lad has joined forces with ex-And What Will Be Left Of Them? bassist Joe Beech to reprise his surrealist ramblings in numbers like Raccoon and The Taxidermist's Bird that make this an experience like no other on the planet. It's been about five years since Kris was a regular in his sorry-moggy costume around these parts - and I for one hope we see him again really soon.
If I had to name one band that sums up the best in Hereford/Worcester music now and for the past few incredibly dynamic years - well God Save The King would be pretty much top of the pile. This four-piece have such a fine pedigree with outfits like Dandelion Killers, And What Will Be Left Of Them?, We Do Kung Fu etc - and it's perhaps no surprise at all that what I've dubbed the ultimate Hereford/Worcester 'supergroup' already have a set of total indie-rock classics with quality ditties like Summer In The City, European City Break and What's Yours Is Mine. I just hope that the Wheel Of Fortune smiles on them real soon.
Someone really must remind Calm Like A Riot's front-man Johnny P that a gig is a marathon not a sprint - you've got to pace yourself man! It's no good burning yourself out halfway through the first number - but sadly the lesson has yet to be learned - once again there was the usual call of 'Is there a doctor in the house' worryingly early... Yes another typically nail-biting and totally enjoyable set from South Worcestershire's fourth best hip-hop act of 2008 (I should really check this claim out sometime) - with political incisiveness, dubious sporting references and bunny-hops in well, pretty varying proportions I guess - oh just go along and see them - I gave up trying to describe them ages ago!
Andy O'Hare