Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Editor

The Drellas + The Dead Class + Project

The Dead Class

Islington Bar Academy
London, UK
Thursday 22 October 2009

I have been pushed for a while to check out The Dead Class and hence my reason for the gig at the Bar Academy in North London. There is a sparse crowd and after garnering some information from the tour manager for the Anti Pop Tour 2009  I can tell you that by en large the tour had been going well, with the main hiccups resulting from the tours plan to include two local bands from the area where the gig takes place- makes sense no? However it seems on a couple of stops locals bands didn’t show, but impov and quick thinking won the day as the guys formed a makeshift band to make sure the patrons got their money’s worth. Good on ya fellas. By the night’s end I kinda hoped the same had happened here!

Leading the lineup were a band called Project- a sort of rock indie hybrid, molded on an Oasis but indie tinged sound. The guys are ok, it’s just not my thing really and their final song which I think they said is their first single is as good as any indie stuff I hear on the radio these days, so yeah why not? As entertaining as the band is a pretty devoted/drunk fan who dances the set away pretty impressively is gets as much attention as the four piece on stage.

The Dead Class are on next and the Liverpudian based quartet (normally a three piece) impress from the onset and are obviously keen to enjoy their second last show on tour. Drummer Tony explained beforehand that the guys have drafted in a friend to share the vocals as lead vocalist and guitarist Villy was suffering a bit on tour with his throat; the combination for me are two of the most pronounced facial expressions from singers I have ever seen.   With a record due hopefully by year’s end the The Dead Class are a bundle of frantic energy and from their intro accompanied by the loudspeaker siren to ‘Age of Paranoia’ their raucous but fun crazed show is not antics alone but based on solid music that reaches out to you with two bony hands and won’t let go. The song about the ‘The loniest man in the world’ is also a great tune and accompanied by the dead pan expressions re-enforces their classic late 70s punk styling’s with attitude, showmanship and raw fun.

The Drellas; label mates to The Dead Class are a strange one to put my finger on. By set-end I’m kind of enjoying them, but even the set is ended abruptly by front man Tommy Scott (of former Britpop Space), due to lack of crowd response (and size as it has decreased with the night’s progress). Heavily synth and keyboard driven, with a shared vocal offering from high pitched female (Masha Padzirei)  to Tommy’s indie post punk deliverance, the band sits between genres and might very well suffer the Marmite dilemma (hate ‘em or love ‘em!). They are an engaging four piece and entertaining, but on the night are not that well received.

I don’t even stay for song two of the final band, they look like the extras to a Dungeon and Dragons get together and once the drum machine kicked in, I knew it was not for me.

Hence me wishing that a improv formed band at the end of night might have been better!