Garage punk sells its soul down at the local Virgin Megastore. Is this the beginning of the end of the new wave of garage punk bands as two rising acts succumb to in-store gigs and subsequent signings at Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London, over two successive days? By Marc Sallis.
10/07/2002
Monday 8th July, 2002
As I fought my way through the rush hour human traffic on London’s underground network I pondered what was waiting for me as The D4 prepared for a 6pm ‘show-time’ at one of the world’s major record store chains.
Was New Zealand’s finest, and as far as I know, only, punk band about to sell its anti-corporate ethos for the sake of selling a few extra records or were they simply defying the system by playing a free gig for their ‘real’ fans? As soon as they took to the stage and hit the first chord of their 30 minute set I realised The D4 are a band that has already sold out. The music the band plays is simply offering a ‘garage punk’ alternative to the Nu-Metal audience that likes a catchy sing-a-long chorus. The D4 are not part of, and should never again be linked with, the subversive punk scene which contains acts such The Beatings, The Moonie Suzuki, The Kills, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, et al., as this level of gross misrepresentation is bordering on defemation.
By the time the current single, ‘Party’, rears its ugly head the band are in full-on contrived punk mode – that’s bubble-gum punk, not garage punk! And as the band’s set draws to a close and they ready themselves to meet their public and to sign whatever paraphernalia they are given a predictable and hilarious moment ensues. The D4’s lead guitarist and Greg Rusedski look-a-like decides to climb on top of his Marshall Stack and then pontificates for what seems like hours about whether to jump or to simply slide off the amp back to the stage. This moment of indecision is then surpassed when the same offender raises his guitar behind his head and deliberates for an age whether to smash his instrument. Upon coming to the conclusion that he’s better advised to smash it at a major festival gig rather than an in-store promotional show he instead rips the strings off in a fashion that reeks of pre-show planning.
Leaving with an empty feeling in my gut I wondered what depths The Bellrays would sink to in order to please and to satisfy potential record buyers the following day?
Tuesday 9th July, 2002
Full of feelings of trepidation rather than anticipation I set off on my same route to the clinical and stale environment of Virgin Megastore for The Bellrays. However, this time I was not about to be disappointed. Immediately the band conveyed their acknowledgement that they were playing an in-store promotional gig and not some dirty late-night basement gig and still exuded all the style you’d expect from a garage punk band.
Although the band breaks the conventions of garage punk by being fronted by an amazing soul singer, The Bellrays are still a convincing and powerful punk band. They are not a group driven by the youthful exuberance of most punk bands but the anger of its ageing members at having to wait so long for their specialist brand of music to come into vogue again before they gained recognition is behind every note they play.
It’s difficult to describe The Bellrays live show without using comparative clichés like has been done a million times over already. The majority of what’s been said and written about the band boils down to them being described as Aretha Franklin fronting The Stooges. While this is a fair way to describe The Bellrays it’s lazy as there’s many more dimensions than this to the band.
Jazz licks, tight rhythms coupled with slack trashy interludes, heavy metal soloing and sweet soul music all culminate throughout The Bellrays set. The 40 minute set rises and intensifies as it nears its conclusion with the single that the band’s promoting, ‘They Glued Your Head on Upside Down’, standing out as an obvious choice of track for chart release due to its traditional arrangement. However, the awesome ‘Too Many Houses in Here’ demonstrated all of the band’s complex dimensions and transported the audience from the stark surroundings of Virgin’s Megastore to a realm where they could believe they were at a real gig.
The final irony of the gig was compounded when The Bellrays bassist said into the mic: “Support your local Virgin Megastore”, before departing the stage and starting the signing session. I can’t think of a better way to end the bizarre event that is an in-store gig.
Website:
https://www.thebellrays.com/
Report by Marc Sallis for Crud Magazine 2002 ©