Thursday 20/10/05 Towers of London, Imperial Vipers, The Hair @ Lincoln University

As far as we were aware, trucker’s caps fell out of fashion approximately two seasons ago. But keyboardist Neil Clark from Leeds band The Hair appears to be staging a one-man reprisal of this fashion. Tonight is no exception.The barely-here crowd don’t seem to take a great deal of notice, but in their unashamedly poppy synth-rock and youthful bopping, they gain a new fan or two.

 

This very tight (and very young) band open with some cracking 80’s beat-box sounds whilst front man Sam Robson and bassist Lee Clark stand artfully with their backs to the audience. The opening track has ray-gun sounds shooting about the place as Sam yells “Oh my god I can’t do anything right” like he’s had an unfortunate acquaintance with a car door. At times they dip into the murky, darker side of synth-pop-rock with melancholy pianos and stabbing riffs. Things soon get funky and upbeat again with tunes that make you want to wiggle, so Neil obliges, treating the spectators to an array of moves that only a very young man can get away with.

 

On the very Roxy Music-esque 'Left Foot Right Foot' all four boys bellow “Left foot motion/ Right foot stand still” over and over again against a backdrop of a lone skin beating away, you can’t help but join in. Although it’s best not to follow the instructions too closely to avoid looking like a big eejit stamping away. In a word, they are fantastic, everything a band should be. Young, enthusiastic, loud, practically fizzing with animated passion and in possession of a bagful of great tunes.

 

Next up are Dunstable-based rockers Imperial Vipers. What this lot are doing here is anyone’s guess. They spend the duration of The Hair’s set walking around the bar like they owned the bleedin’ place before taking to the stage to launch their decrepit “straight up, no frills rock and roll”. They open with a track that sounds suspiciously like Leviathan by Hawkwind and proceed to yelp and strut - very overblown rock.

 

Their style is somewhat an acquired taste - sleeveless tops, Stetson hats, stonewash denim and unfeasibly long dreadlocks on guitarist Wevs. Their technical sound is impressive and singer Ash sings his heart and soul (and guts most probably) out as promised but theirs is too big a sound with too big an ego for such a small venue. In one bizarre Spinal Tap moment Wevs’ sleeveless denim shirt spontaneously bursts open to reveal a tanned and toned torso. Nice.

 

Finally Towers of London ascend the stage to the shockingly half-full venue. Donny Tourette is wearing a t-shirt traditionally customised with daubings of “Under Attack”. Their massive hairsprayed mullets take up about a third of the venue’s capacity and their true-punk attitude taking up the rest. The Rev scissor-kicks the starting of the set while Dirk’s fag sparks menacingly as he strums furiously at his guitar. The gobbing and beer spitting starts pretty soon making sure the front row of the audience is a least soggy by the end of the first track.

 

London’s naughtiest boys are true to form as Sex Pistols from the waist down, Motley Crüe from the navel up and unhinged in the skull area. Donny swings his mic manically until it hits the roof with a big fat thud. It’s not long before he climbs onto the speaker stack and subsequently disconnects some essential wiring. His demonic little face contorts as the band unleash ‘Beaujolais’. With the line “I’ve got a job, you’ve got a degree’, Donny points an accusing finger at several of his adoring student spectators. Forthcoming single ‘How Rude She Was’ saw the wiry frontman indulge in a spot of crowd surfing. It’s delivered with superior musicianship, the like of which they aren’t credited with. They are often dismissed as a joke band like The Darkness with nothing to present but a sneer and a haircut but the Towers offer sometimes brilliant moments of pure punk.

 

Later, Snell beats the crap out of ‘On A Noose’ while The Rev plays his six-string behind his head, something that is apparently becoming a habit. One of the several highlights to their show was the numerous accidental comedy fallings over. Tommy Brunette did a couple, Donny did two backwards off stage and The Rev treated us to one, just out of good grace. They spat their way through ‘Rock Scene’ and ‘**** It Up’ with Donny adding a few hippie dance moves. Ending with the deafening drop of a mic after ‘Heart Attack’, the band decide they’ve had enough for the night. Gigwise gets a friendly thumbs-up from Tommy Brunette as we see him heading for the sanctuary of the tour bus. They’re not all bad then.