Under The Wires gigs are ALWAYS standouts and this was no exception. If Colin and crew are bringing a band (heard of before or not) to Edinburgh or Glasgow, it’s always worth checking out. Of all the gigs I go to I rarely pay much attention to who’s promoting them (with a couple of exceptions) but if Under The Wires are backing it, you’re on for a surefire winner of a night out.
And if that’s not enough, it was a full PeniGoth gang turnout for this – Bill, Mark, Chris and Slash - all looking forward to the evening and a few early beers to get into the swing of it for some. The Banshee Labyrinth is a very familiar venue as a regular post-gig late night haunt for us (and band practice rooms back in the 80s and 90s for some), but my first time for a gig there (and 17th venue in Edinburgh this year, yes, I am counting). Just off the Royal Mile in the ancient underground vaults, it’s reputedly the most haunted pub in Scotland so it was perfect for a night of anarchic French punk (and Scottish, thanks to support band Shock and Awe).
As always, the pre-gig chat ranged from sensible to surreal and tonight the topics of blether on offer were parenting challenges, to (thanks to the unavoidable Oasis reunion tour media frenzy) the perils of stadium gigs. The last straw for stadium events for one PeniGoth was seeing a woman stand in front of him and just let loose, peeing herself without making any effort to find a toilet (“she always does this!” her husband told him, laughing). I’m sure there’s a podcast in this somewhere.
There was mixed interest for seeing the support band when I got them mixed up with another artist with the same name before the gig, but I did see the whole set from support band, Edinburgh’s own Shock And Awe, who have been treating Scotland (and beyond, as they are world famous) to their brand of punk rock for almost 20 years (not the Electro band from Utrecht. My bad).
A couple of us went in to see them, while a few stayed at the bar and the Auld Alliance, between Scotland and France, got another fraternal boost when Shock And Awe were introduced in French as well as Scottish, before launching into their set. I haven’t heard them before but enjoyed their stuff. Straightforward upbeat, angsty punk rock from a well-drilled band who looked very relaxed on stage playing some enjoyable tunes. In particular their new song, hot off the presses; The State of U – so new, the lyrics were written out on a sheet that got punked up into a ball at the end and kicked into the crowd landing at my feet (quickly found it’s way into my pocket to take home as a memento). Chatty in between and good to hear snippets about the songs and banter between band members. A great warm up for the main act.
Les Lullies came out of the blocks swinging, speeding their way through a whirlwind of thrashy, seventies-sounding New York punk with upbeat and furious melodies. There was very little chat in between songs and often none – guitars screeching feedback to an end of one tune, into the next that left the crowd trying to keep up with their applause which, more than not, rolled into the next song starting up straight after the previous one without break.
As a unit, these Montpellier-founded punks are a tight, rapid-sound unit and individually a contrast of visual styles; lead singer and bass both wouldn’t look out of place in a Seventies CBGB’s house band, the guitarist was giving a contrasting grunge-ish almost laid-back Indie vibe and the drummer wearing only a bunnet, the shortest of short shorts and an impressive collection of tattoos (and gallons of sweat). Each on their own, very striking but very different, together, their differences added an effective layer of visual chaos to their firing-on-all-cylinders sound.
Over the whole show, it was a mix of French and English language songs, not that it made any difference not understanding the lyrics to the French ones, the way they switched between, was another plus-point, but the fast-paced style of delivering wave after wave of guitar driven, head-bobbing great tunes, I couldn’t tell you what the songs were, but brilliant all the same (I’m hoping the ever-obliging Colin @ Under The Wires will send me a setlist so I can add a Spotify playlist to this blog for you all to enjoy too!).
I think there must’ve been around 15 songs in about 40 minutes of 100mph playing, which might be a relatively short set but we definitely got value for money with what we were treated to. As the band left stage, they couldn’t get anywhere near leaving the room, as they were mobbed by the crowd for congratulations, very sweaty hugs and selfies, which is testament to how much they were enjoyed. So, it was back on for a quick encore and away (to be mobbed and congratulated again, not getting too far near the door very quickly).
Magnifique et retournez bientôt Lullies!
That sums it up pretty neatly. Great evening and hopefully not the "Dernier Soir" from Les Lullies - a song that they played at about twice the speed of the video on You Tube 😂
Outstanding review 🎶