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The lanky man on stage stops juddering for a moment,
partially oblivious to the clodhopping, muddy punk trundling
out around him. He eyes the microphone with tainted
curiosity and a pervert’s poisonous grin, pulls back
the elastic of his pants like a seedy Krusty the Clown
demoted by court order to the Camden toilet circuit,
wedges the mic into place and grooves for a moment like
the drunk lover believing himself to be a skinny, lubed-up
helping of love walrus irresistibility. Removing the
microphone sharply he brings it up to his nose to inspect
his groinal gig hygiene with a facial twitch making
Rik Mayall’s work in Bottom look like modern day Shakespeare
staring Chaplain. Now, this shouldn’t be funny. Actually
it really isn’t. Far from it. You really just want to
slap the cheeky little toe-rag out of his self-obsessed
ego-pit and half way into next week. But you can’t.
You won’t let yourself. Because you’re smiling. Against
your will perhaps, but you’re smiling. And besides,
he’s only just got started.
The man is Steve Jones and the band he leads with a
diligent eccentricity is Manchester’s glimmer of punk
hope, Moco. He looks like he fell through Camden Market
arse-first into a puddle of amphetamine on the way here
tonight. They look like the weird, shy metal kids who’ve
never known the joys of eye contact, relegated to the
far corner of the playground because their jackets clashed
with the Blur fans. Aurally and visually then they remind
us of the once almost great Crocketts – a consistent
pounding back-beat, heads down, syrupy pub-rock sweat
pouring from every orifice, not a great deal else, but
looking like they’ve routed the entire power supply
through the singer. Only this time we don’t get the
impression that there’s a loose connection or nine short-circuiting
up in his head at any given moment. No, he’s clearly
as sane as a loaf of Hovis. It’s just he has an excessive
compulsive attention-seeking disorder that makes Cliff
Jones of Gay Dad seem like the bassist from Gomez.
But that’s entertainment, as it may be worth telling
Simon Cowell. You may be laughing at him, while he probably
thinks you’re with him all the way, but whatever angle
he ends up tickling you from there’s no mistaking that
he is a spectacle. And not only because he IS Jarvis
Cocker on steroids fronting The Ramones. If you’re not
paying attention he will try harder – with a healthy
disregard for how much of a tit he looks. And such nonchalance
towards thyself should be applauded. They find themselves
fitting into a current lineage of bands who make no
bones about innovation or pushing boundaries or fitting
in when the music that makes the hairs on the back of
your neck stand on end is already there, largely. And
energy could be better spent finding the best way to
knock you back, make you laugh/cry/blister/bleed/convulse,
because music should strive for reactions. And no matter
what they are, this is a band that demand reactions.
By the end of their chaotic 25 minutes – climaxing with
Steve performing gymnastic loops on a beam above the
bar – we’re even beginning to think there could be some
tunes in there too. Kind of the missing link between
Britpop and the Scene With No Name, one thing’s for
sure – they’re better than The Parkinsons.
James Berry for Crud Magazine© 2002 
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|
| 04/02 1 Giant Leap - My Culture
04/02 Elfpower Interview - Andrew Rieger - Creatures
04/02 Frou Frou Interview - Guy Sigsworth/Imogen Heap
04/02 Gomez Interview - Ian Ball
04/02 Idlewild - Live - London Astoria
04/02 K's Choice Interview
04/02 Leaves - Live - Camden Dingwall
04/02 Longwave Interview - Exit
04/02 Lucy Mongrel Interview
04/02 Oasis - The Hindu Times
04/02 Phantom Planet - Interview
04/02 Unwritten Law - Interview
04/02 VUE - Coordinates Interview
05/02 BRMC - LIve - Kentish Town, London
05/02 Breeders - Title K
05/02 FC Kahuna - Machine Says Yes
05/02 Moco - Live - London Monarch
05/02 Need New Body - Interview
05/02 The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Live - Soundhause, Northampton
05/02 The Bellrays - Meet The Bellrays
06/02 Fleadh Festival - Finsbury Park
06/02 Frou Frou Coordinates Interview
06/02 Incubus - Interview - Mark Einziger
06/02 North Mississippi Allstars - Interview
06/02 Papa Roach - She Loves Me Not
06/02 Proud Mary - Live - Northampton, Soundhaus
06/02 Pulp - Live - Sherwood Pines, Edwinstowe
06/02 Reindeer section - You Are My Joy
06/02 Silverchair - Diorama
|  | 06/02 Something Corporate - Leaving Through The Window
06/02 Soinc Youth - Interview
06/02 The Burn - The Smiling Face
06/02 The Coral - Live - Roadmender, Northampton
06/02 The LIbertines - Live - The Social, Nottingham
06/02 The Vines, Sheffield Leadmill
06/02 Trik Turner - Interview
06/02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Live, Soundhaus, Northampton
07/02 12 Stones Interview
07/02 Arolo -Interview
07/02 Buy To Let Doncaster - Anti Social Behaviour
07/02 Cassius - Interview
07/02 Farrah - Interview
07/02 Glassjaw - Interview
07/02 Neil Michael Haggerty - Interview
07/02 Hoobastank - Running Away
07/02 Leaves - Interview
07/02 LL Cool Jay Interview
07/02 Oasis - Live - Finsbury Park, London
07/02 Polyphonic Spree - Live - Camden Monarch
07/02 Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
07/02 Super Furry Animals - Interview
07/02 The Beatings - Live - Metro Club London
07/02 The Bellrays + The D4 - Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street London
January 2001
July - August 2001
September - October 2001
November - December 2001
January - March 2002
April - July 2002
August - December 2002 | |
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