The Computers / Wilde Eyes / The Greasy Slicks [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 20/11/13]
Opinion
The Greasy Slicks
I made a pretty big mistake in missing these guys. I timed my arrival with the start of Wilde Eyes’ set, but by the end of the evening I wished I’d experienced some more rock ‘n’ roll awesomeness. I’m told these guys delivered in spades, and now very much regret missing them.
Wilde Eyes
If your band write songs that would fit perfectly in a Tarantino soundtrack, I am going to like your band. Wilde Eyes fit this requirement effortlessly – so much so that I came to this gig on the back of a couple of live demos I was shown a few weeks back. Frontwoman Stephanie Wilde is rock ‘n’ roll, and her band’s set, though short, was spectacularly engrossing despite being, for this show, much more about the music than a flashy OTT performance. Wicked songs and an attitude-laden extended guitar solo at the end; both of these made me very happy. Right now, Wilde Eyes need two things to push it up a notch: more gig-ready songs, and more gigs.
The Computers
Whereas Wilde Eyes played it cool, The Computers were fucking mental. At least, their frontman, Alex Kershaw, was; the rest of The Computers backed up a full-tilt frontman with the restrained expertise of highly experienced performers. For their entire set, Alex was everywhere: standing on the crowd barrier, hastily switching between mic stand and six-string; dancing with the audience; forcing men to dance with men (against their will, or perhaps not); running backwards out the front door with the mic in his hand (and still hitting all the right notes); crushing as many people as possible into the women’s toilet (myself included – it’s more spacious in there, another reason to be jealous of the fairer sex); and even standing onstage a couple of times.
The only complaint I have about The Computers is that their music is quite formulaic and predictable, taking many cues from performers from several decades past – but honestly, with a show like that, who the fuck cares? This was the best feel-good show I’ve seen in a long time, and the next time The Computers are in town, I’ll be there again.
As ever, big love to the staff at The Boileroom, especially Lydia, and Olly Dexter for still more epic sound work.
Links
The Greasy Slicks on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greasyslicks
Wilde Eyes on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildeeyes
The Computers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecomputers
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