Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Los Pepes – The Motorhead of Power Pop returned. A glorious, powerful roof raising set. Make no mistake these guys take no prisoners. Its Hard. Its fast. Its The Prince Albert.
Los Pepes
Los Pepes were back. Take cover! They smashed into Brighton with the force of a rock and roll hurricane last time ! They were back playing at The Prince Albert in Brighton. They were guests of The BellRays and they claim to be “The loudest powerpop band on earth”
What you get are 60s and 70s garage pop melodies drowning in hundreds of decibels of punk rock guitar. Good Vibrations records served up with a punch in the face. Songs about love, antipathy and getting up to no good. They’ll stick in your head and leave your ears ringing. A packed out solid crowd will testify to that fact!
I like rock and roll, I like it loud and fast – so naturally dear reader I love Los Pepes! I had waited almost a year to see Ben and the guys return. It was a crazy night dashing between venues and also the choice of photos of Caitlyn Jenner or a night of rock and roll. No damn contest!
The Band
Now the line up has changed since we last met. The last encounter causing my my eardrums to melt in rock and roll ecstasy .
Ben Perrier: Vocals/Guitar
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Guilherme Rujao: Guitar and vocals
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Adam J Smith on Bass Guitar
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Jimmy Jones on Drums
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Los Pepes: The Motorhead of Power Pop
Los Pepes were back. They meant business. They were here to kick the true spirit of rock n roll into our faces at 100mph, or 160.95 kmh. The guys kicked it off and suddenly more and more people came Prince Albert. The venue was actually pretty packed already. The heat and the occasion fired up Los Pepes…
The Set
Ok, so what were Los Pepes gonna serve up for us tonight – the first three songs were the enormous Guilty Pleasures, Still Belong To Me and the title track of their latest album Positive Negative. Now it really doesn’t take long to see the amount of talent and skill on display at The Albert. The rockin’ guitar genius of Ben and Guilherme gets the crowd going real fast and some with quite breathtakingly fast solos. There is of course strong backing for the front. We were treated to some pretty hefty heavy bass and everything is backed with the heavy pounding rhythms of their drummer. Make no mistake Ben fronts the band with a lot of charisma, presence and some huge vocals to boot. What a mix!
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
A short set of some 40 minutes saw the guys slot in as many songs as they could. No chat. No wasted space just pure rock and roll! More face melters were poured into us Anyway, Unknown, The Trap and followed a vicious drum roll led us into Mean It At The Time with the infectious chorus. A look at the set list indicated that Let Me Tell You Something was missing, oh well never mind – maybe next time! The sweet guitars gets the Brighton crowd motoring hard, a lot of bouncing up and down!
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
These guys were creating a truly captivating atmosphere as the songs came at us, they hit hard and heavy. Up next Automatic, Tonight and Too Late, Too Late. The band were well and truly on fire by this point. This well oiled machine were just nailing it, a faulty mic stand couldn’t throw Ben off his stride. From the opening notes of the opening number we were totally locked in. The foot-stomping sounds of the Los Pepes brand of Punk / Rock And Roll hits the sweet spot and they create sentiments in their music that everyone can can relate to tonight!
Los Pepes: Photo by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex.
Heading towards the end of the slot we had the angry guitars fire up I Ain’t The One, some brilliant guitar and vocal mix for this one, and that rather tasty bass solo riff. Ben pulling off some serious rock moves and high kicks which is not easy on The Albert stage.
Los Pepes will jolt you into life faster than any amount of espresso’s and the crowd now visibly melting in the heat matched the bands energy with their final song Action. Possibly the loudest powerpop band on Earth! Los Pepes are here to leave songs in your head and a ringing in your ears! Wow – that is all.
Los Pepes are on Facebook. These guys are seriously good at what they do, go check them out!
And Finally…
Well played to Thee Sherbert Pear Explosion.
Now these rock and roll surf, 60’s, and garage punk musicians will play anything, as long as they like it! First band of the evening. We had some serious stuff from these guys tonight and they definitely built up the atmosphere for the assembled crowd for what was to come. They open with Thundering Guitars – a most appropriate opening song. I heard one person remark how good it was to hear a Ramones cover – California Sun. Made me chuckle.
If you have been to the Albert before you may have caught these guys. They play there fairly often. I love this outfit. They will make you smile and give your ears a tequila soaked massage of the highest order. A quality performance. Good Guys Dont Wear White, Primitive, Storm Comin and Little Bit O Soul (Another Ramones cover no doubt :-)) There’s A Storm Coming’ . Will gave up his seat behind the kit to let in a certain Dusty Watson for a blistering Pyscho! Now that was a real treat for us and, by the look on their faces, for the band also.
Catch the Sherberts if you can, always great songs and a warm sense of humour will transport you through their set. They really are rather good and as I say they will leave you smiling and that right foot tapping. Well played guys!
Thee Sherbet Peardrop Explosion are on Facebook
STAY SICK!
Stay Sick are promoters based in Brighton. They have been around for a while now. Great night and well organised. Thank you Stay Sick.
Established in 2008, now a Brighton institution for the ones in the know, these Cramps obsessed guys have put on such greats as Billy Childish, Kid Congo from the Cramps, Monotonix, Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster and Thee Oh Sees. With bands from Japan, Germany, USA, France and even Croatia (to name but a few), STAY SICK has made it their mission to track down, kidnap and present you with the best bands from all over the globe.
Stay Sick are on Facebook
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All original pictures / video – copyright to IANB/MEDIA WORKS/ SCENE SUSSEX – Ian “The Lens” Bourn 2019.
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