The Vibrators return. A night of punk mania!

THE VIBRATORS

The Vibrators

The boys were back in town! This looked set to be a fine night of Rock n Roll and punk! A packed out Prince Albert welcomed the two bands who were set to play with The Vibrators topping the bill for this gig.

The Vibrators were founded by Ian ‘Knox’ Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John ‘Eddie’ Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding’s recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records.

The present lineup is Nigel Bennett – guitars and vocals,  Pete Honkamaki – bass guitar and vocals and of course – the guv’nor, John ‘Eddie’ Edwards – on vocals and drums.

Drums: Eddie Edwards

The Vibrators – Eddie – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex

Bass: Pete Honkamaki

The Vibrators – Pete – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex

Guitar: Nigel Bennett

The Vibrators – Nigel – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex

Eddie took to the stage and shouted “Alright Brighton?” as Nigel and Pete climbed up onto the stage area and plugged in. He swaps and changes The Vibrators vocal sections with Pete. Eddie’s drumming is astonishing – brimming over with power and brilliance. He gives the audience the thumps, the fills and patterns to please the ear and to go side by side with Pete’s bass lines. He also deals with the “banter” from the crowd with a certain style and panache! He clearly loves what he does – and so does the crowd.   Pete towered above me in his usual spot at The Prince Albert. Sporting this time a leather armless jacket showing his inked tattoos on his arms. And his guitar is slung low, real low. You knew Pete was on stage and you knew he meant business! The acclaimed London-based rock guitarist, Nigel Bennett is best known as a lead guitarist who recorded and toured with the UK punk bands The Members and The Vibrators. The self-taught guitarist has long been considered by music fans to be one of the best lead guitarists on the punk music circuit.

The Set:

The set opened up with a selection of older material, the set was broken up to include newer material and even a Pete composition.  I Need a Slave, London Girls, Amphetamine Blue, Whips & Fur and a thumping live version of Troops Of Tomorrow. Automatic Lover – with Nigel playing some totally on point guitar, Pete hammering out the bass line and vocals and Eddie at the back hitting it out. This got the packed in crowd well and truly motivated. This song has lost none of its gusto or vibrancy and the band powered it at us at full tilt. I also enjoyed Nigels “moment” as he delivered his “punk rock electric guitar” for a version of The Members hit Sound of The Suburbs – brilliant Nigel!

You have to be impressed with the way these three play, its fast and tight. Their back catalogue of songs in the set was a brilliantly crafted mix up of pub rock, punk, and a touch of blues. They carry this off without any of their songs sounding similar or tired. Loose Change and She’s The One also made it into the well constructed set. Proceedings with The Vibrators, as always, come to a close quickly and with the classic Baby Baby – that was it. Stunning to hear that song and great to hear everyone singing along. Just perfect!

It was all over, as always, quickly, but the crowd seemed to have had a blast and enjoyed this visit from The Vibrators. Come back soon guys – we will be there!

Penny Blood

They describe themselves as a super group – made up of ex members of Pig City Angels and Peter & The Test Tube Babies. They list as their Influences, Ramones, Motorhead, Killing Joke, The Damned, Bob Mould, Nirvana, The Cure, The Cult, Arctic Monkeys. Seeing them live you can see exactly where they are from. A great sound capturing the style and output of those bands.

The Band

Jim Phelan, H and Dave O’Brien

The guys put out a storming set of material. Jim wearing his silver shirt and sporting his guitar did a great job fronting this new band. He is a great front-man – stunning smack in the face guitar work and topped off with great vocals. They played hard, they played heavy, they played loud, and they play damn good rock and roll! They shook the Albert and the fine material included Superbad and the cracking Feeding Time was interspersed with some hilarious in band banter. Brilliant – they nailed it. I hadn’t seen Jim since his previous band, Pig City Angels folded – so it was so good to see him back, with a great line up and more fine rocking tunes. Hope to see this outfit again soon, if not before! Well played Penny Blood!

Penny Blood – pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex

Penny Blood are on Facebook – give them a like!

Stone Heroes

Stone Heroes: Pic by Ian Bourn for Scene Sussex

I love it when I get to hear and meet a band I havent seen before. Not sure how I have missed these guys – I know Lee from some of his other artist involvement, so it was lovely to meet up with him.

Female fronted ‘Post punk pop rockers’ Stone Heroes formed in 2012 and have been gigging clubs, pubs and festivals ever since. They have released 3 critically welcomed EP’s and are in the process of writing and recording new songs for their first album, due to be completed in 2018. Currently working with their strongest ever line up the band will always throw up a few surprises with their varied mix of original songs. An intriguing combination of Janine’s powerful voice, melodic guitars and powerhouse drums and bass with influences ranging from Penetration to Patti Smith, the Doors to the Damned. All of those influences could easily be heard and identified.

The Band – A slideshow!

Janine Ray – vocals, Louise King – Rhythm Guitar, Dave Leak – Lead Guitar, Fleagle – Guitar/Synth, Martin Taylor – Bass and the fabulous Lee Morrell – drums

The Set

First off, got to say the stage at The Prince Albert was busy! So many musicians and their instruments up there. So glad to have got there early to catch these guys. A great set got underway as all of those instruments fired up to produce a top sound. Well done to the Albert sound guy – great job. Not seeing the band before, by song number 2 I have to say – they had gained a new fan! They played their set well and everyone was tight. The lovely lead singer Janine seemed to be a firecracker up there on stage, she introduced some hilarious moments , some nonsense but then she would put that great voice back to work.

There was a very poignant moment, and well done Janine, when she mentioned the passing of Heavy Drapes singer Garry Borland. A sad and reflective moment that was appreciated by the crowd. The set started up with Pause For Thought and closed with The Room. Fabulous material from the terrific outfit Stone Heroes.

The Stone Heroes are on Facebook – check them out!

All in all a terrific night – 3 great bands whats not to like! Well done to the promoters Cheating Snake. Cheating Snake have a Facebook page

That’s it! See you down the front, come and say hi!

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