Review:
'PRISCILLAS, THE/ SHOPPING'
'London, Highbury, Buffalo Bar, 27th Sept 2013'
- Genre: 'Punk/New Wave'
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Our Rating:
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This was the first birthday party for the Buffalo Bar's 'Some Weird Sin' night. It's quickly become one of my favourite club nights, consistently coming up with good bills and great, fun nights out. It was also - after 10 years - Guri Go Go's last gig with The Priscilla's for a while as she is apparently off to have a baby.
First on were SHOPPING Shopping Facebook page who are a trio sounding remarkably like Pylon which is way cool by me. They opened with Buy Something, showcasing taut guitar lines and good intertwining vocals from the two women and one bloke who make up the Shopping personnel list.
The next song that was about the end of a relationship and how they were moving on as it's over. Again, it was very cool with some nifty guitar work over a very solid and slightly funky bassline. The next song (my notes make little sense of it) was more like Wire than Pylon but still had that early eighties almost no wave feel to it. There was fair bit of joking, meanwhile, before they played You Are A Sort: a wonderfully sardonic song that could almost have been early A Certain Ratio.
Then they were singing about how they were out For Your Money and well, I believed them. There was a very choppy number after that before they started going on about You Say We Play> this time coming across like a cross between Pylon and very early Talking Heads. The Wrong Way Home was a tale of a night gone awry in the worst kinds of ways and was damn fine. They finished with a song about being both Inside and outside. A very cool opening set.
Soon it was time for THE PRISCILLASThe Priscillas online. I haven't seen them play for about 4 years or so since a gig at the Dirty Water Club and I have to say I have no idea why it's been so long as they always deliver great sets. I'a also forgotten Heidi Heelz being in the band. She got married to Jonny Cola just a week ago and of course has very kindly donated one of her kidneys to save his life. Truly great woman.
They opened up at full pelt with a song about being Single and ripping up photos of the spurned ex in the style of The Runaways having a ruck with the Shangri La's over how a girl group should sound. Jen O'Drag was pouting and giving it her all on Bad Girl while Guri Go Go had a big grin on her face as she brought the sleaze out of her guitar to our eager ears and the packed crowd were really getting into it.
It wasn't long before the band started to get a touch shambolic mainly due to sound problems and Jordan Gee's amazing collapsing bass drum pedal but it never took away from how much fun they were having. As Jen sang about how You are always on her mind, I bet we are too. Still, they had their nails sharpened to full talon for Jen to be singing Hands Off This Boy Is Mine and who would argue with any of them.
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I wonder just how loopy you'd have to be for The Priscillas to sing Loopy Girl about you? I'm sure the target of these lyrics is properly out there. They played their local anthem about Holloway at the end of Holloway Road which is one of those songs that always sounds cool. In between songs there was plenty of banter to keep things going while that drum pedal got replaced and Jen name-checked all the ex-band members in the house or (in the case of Keiko) band employees who had a great song dedicated to them, yes For Keiko was very cool indeed. They then did the theme tune for The Search for Simon:Search For Simon film at Raindance a Sci Fi film that Jen has a small part in.
It was soon time for them to take us all to Outer Space in a tune that had its rocket boosters firing straight out of Heidi Heelz' bass and it was like the whole club would lift off from its current subterranean base into space at any moment. Lydia was a great sing along that got everyone who wasn't already going, going and then some. When Jen sings about "how I want what I want" how could any of us deny her those wishes. Was the last song of the set really called Yes Please? Probably not but it was a fine finisher and they sort of left the stage while bathing in the applause before coming back for a well-earned encore.
For the encore they went all Glee on us, well not really but they did play a stonking good version of The Go Go's' We've Got The Beat that made the pissy glee version sound like the mistake it was. It also had just about the whole club singing along with them; a great version. They closed with a song I put down as Killing my Friends. I'm sure it is called something else but it was still a great end to a good send off for Guri Go Go and I must make sure not to leave it so long again before I next see The Priscillas. If they come your way don't miss 'em.
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author: simonovitch
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The Priscillas
Heidi Heelz
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