The Fuzztones 100 Club 25th of January, 2018

The first gig of 2018 will prove a difficult one to match for the rest of the year. I knew the Fuzztones were playing last year when Ash told me but we didn’t think again until a drunken meal in the Bay Horse on New Years Eve. Also it being at one my favourite venues and I was off the next day made it a no-brainer to go to. We descended the stairs of the legendary Oxford Street club to catch half the set of Galileo 7. They are a fantastic band, one of the Medway Psych groups. With members who were in the Prisoners, Solarflares and the Forefathers with influences from early psychedelic bands up to punk. A great must see band. There is a clip below

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyuZD1hkWVo

Next on the Fuzztones, a group that I discovered quite a few years ago when I was really into American 60’s psych, garage, punk bands. The sort that you can find on Nuggets or Pebbles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOc03T-hQiY

compilations. Really raw, fuzz guitar, Hammond organ driven music. They are not from the 60’s but the 80’s but still fly the flag for these fantastic bands from then. If you think of the Midnight Barbers (Oh Maddie) with a full band including a Hammond then you won’t be far away. They do mixture of covers from such greats as Screaming Lord Sutch’s “Jack the Ripper,” Blue Oyster Cult, the Bevis Frond and old psych garage bands from the 60’s like the Haunted and the Gonn. Mixed in with a few of their own “She’s Wicked” “Blood from a stone” and the fantastic “Ward 81.” Well worth watching the Youtube video for that one. There was a lot more, all exciting, all energetic and just great. We were pretty lucky to see them as I think it was there only gig in the UK. There is another clip below of the Fuzztones.

This all sat in between a great four nights out. Wednesday night, out to the Emirates watching Arsenal beat Chelsea, a few beers (quite a few) and another final to look forward too. Thursday the Fuzztones. Friday, the KTF Soul Club at Stanford Le Hope, if you like your 60’s soul, one the best clubs in Essex. Saturday night a nice meal out and afterwards watching a good 70’s cover band at my local, the Compasses. Nice to see a band doing covers of Slade, TREX, Suzie Q, Sweet along with other rock classics that are not normally done. The Chocolate Fireguard, a silly name but very entertaining.

Duncan, January 2018.