The Buzzcocks – Brixton Electric 21st June 2013.
Forgive the delay in transmission…
This broadcast relayed from Summer solstice 2013…
The seas of time were choppy, so we sought safe harbour from this temporal tempest in the fair haven known as Brixton. After some time sampling the local hostelries we ventured to the theatre known locally as ‘The Fridge’ now widely known as ‘The Electric’.
As luck would have it we were not alone in seeking comfort here, a multitude was in attendance, all eager to sample the sonic delights of the troupe of wandering minstrels who go by the name of ‘The Buzzcocks’! And none were disappointed…
A brief warm up from the capable support act ‘Apple Shift 7’ set the right mood. Then a brief pause…
And Boom… the main event… Kicking off with ‘Boredom’, ‘Fast Cars’ and ‘Autonomy’ the pace was relentless with a youthful energy that belied the years accumulated by these seasoned professionals.
Barely stopping for breath, or pausing for applause, the hits kept on coming (in no particular order); ‘I don’t Mind’, ‘Ever Fallen in Love’, ‘Love Battery’, ‘Breakdown’, ‘Girl from the Chain Store’….
Front man Pete Shelley entertained all with his unique command of poppy angst-y punk. Female and male alike were under his spell (with a healthy portion of the audience representing the fairer sex).
Steve Diggle gave a performance of great magic and majesty, a sight to behold. He’s a true rock star, delivering all of the requisite gestures and posturing with perfect execution while never missing a beat.
Not forgetting the new guys; Chris Remmington providing all the necessary nuances for the bass and Danny Farrant doing a bang up job on drums (Beating the kit to within an inch of existence during ‘Pulse beat’!).
The only minor hiccup occurred during ‘Fiction Romance’, something went awry, the band simply stopped and restarted treating us to another superb rendition.
This particular time traveller was anticipating that perfection would have been acheived upon hearing ‘Everybody’s Happy Nowadays’… Alas it was not to be… But no matter… the performance, delivery and set list more than made up for this one omission.
In fact, truth be told, the mighty rendition of ‘Harmony in My Head’ was worth the entry fee alone! Steve played out of his skin on this. He took us on an extended psychedelic meander mid-song before kicking back in to the main structure with real gusto.
In a flash it was over, with Encores including ‘Orgasm Addict’ and ‘Oh Shit’, none were disappointed! Fellow space/time traveller Spizz was also witnessed enjoying the hospitality of this temporal Oasis.
After the storm had died down, it was safe once more to file out into the remains of this longest day. We spied locals rejoicing the pagan festivities of the Summer Solstice, including a tree hugging Pigeon and a time travelling Flower present in different continents and time zones on the same day!
Super-duper!
