Strawberry Blondes, the
Wales answer on Rancid, was in Stockholm for three gigs in three
days. I came to see two of them and was impressed with what I saw. To
support them Stiffy Jones came along from the Stockholm suburbs.
Wedenesday, November 27at Snövit
The Crowd
Wedenesday at
Snövit, not much people. As I written before, if there is a
dedicated crowd at a gig, it doesn´t matter if it´s not a big
crowd, because most punk clubs in Stockholm are so small it seems
crowded anyway. The people gathered in the Snövit basement on
wedenesday was mostly Strawberry Blondes fans and they were there for
a good time. Some told me that SB been one of their favorite bands
for some time and the support band Stiffy Jones thought it was
surreal to be playing on the same stage as their favorites.
The Bands
Stiffy Jones
As
I written before I promised to give the lads a chance that I didn´t
gave them while I impatient was waiting for Topper some weeks ago.
This time I gave them the chance to prove themself as a band to be
counting on. In many ways they did. Good songs and a good show. But
it all drowned in a massive treble noice that did cast a shade on the
songs. It was hard to hear the vocals and even the bass guitar most
of the time, it affected my imprssion of them. I have often noticed
the same phenomena, the support band doesn´t pay the same amount of
attention to all the details as the main band, wich often is the main
difference between being the headline and not. Lower the volume a
bit, especially the treble and you will stand out as much greater.
Besides that they were quite good, with good tunes. If I should put
them in a genre or compare them with some others, then it must be the
Civilians but with a bit more indy touch.
Strawberry
Blondes
The only thing that I can hold against the Wales
band (with a Canadien bass player) Strawberry Blondes, is that, on
the records they are a bit too much Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Stiff
Little Fingers and the Clash. Even if they do really good records.
Live the band played it a bit harder, a bit more playful and with
their own touch, which made quite an impression on me. I didn´t
expect to see such a living band. Frontman and singer Mickie Stabs
was all over the stage, jumping, dancing and singing so the saliva
showers anything around. The intensity was striking. Live, they
didn´t have the double guitars with its fat sound like they can have
on the records. But that made them more Strawberry Blondes than
anything that they can be compared with. They used the dynamics of
ease it down a bit before the songs erupts into loud punk rock for
instance. A throbbing bass, played by Stew Page, and a drummer, Jay
Rebel, that seemed convinced that his drums was something that
deserved a good beating.
It was a hard working
band leaving nothing to chance in the stage apearance. 100% pure punk
energy that was amazing. Sorry I meant 110% punk energy.
Any band that will
improve their stage presence, go and see Strawberry Blondes, watch
and learn! And even when the strings broke on both the bass and the
guitar they went on as the high class band they appeared as.
On
Wednesday night the crowd responded with singing along in the songs
and spontaniously jump on stage and grabs the mic´s and help out.
The band seemed a bit surprised over it and very pleased. The crowd
did go, aaaaoooaawwhh etc.
Best songs? It´s hard to pick some
of their songs because the high quality of all their songs. But my
favorites were ”Fight Back”, ”No Pasaran”, ”Goodbye
Inspiration”, ”Social Control”,
And the genius of having a
real trumpet, played by Emma Jones, in some of the songs like
”Manners and Respect” was adding on to the good feeling I got
from it. The trumpet that cut in between the distorted guitar and the
bass, that made them stand out in their own way.
I can truly
say that I got a hole in my heart when there wasn´t any Rancid
record this years as promised or any West Coast Riot festival in the
summer. Strawberry Blond pretty much filled that hole in my heart
with their two shows that I witnessed in Stockholm.
So
Worth
the money? I paid 60+20 SEK for this and are more than pleased. Even
more pleased over the fact that I was going to have another chance to
see them next day.
Thursday November 28
at Tegelhögen,
Vällingby
The Place
For once I just had
a 7 minures walk to the gig.
Tegelhögen is a youth recreation
centre in one of the oldest Suburbs in Stockholm. Vällingby.
Vällingby was rolemodel for building good suburbian towns all over
the world after the WW II. But the ideas from witch Vällingby was
based on got diminised in the city plans and the European suburbs got
to be dead end places full of despair. Even Vällingby in itself have
lost some of it´s fame and glory.
One of the things that was
important back in the fifties when Vällingby was buildt, was
something for the youth to do and a place to do it in. Tegelhögen
was such a place, At the place the Swedish metal scene later have had
some important moments here.
In the early eighties the local band
Taboo reigned here, Jocke that played in Taboo is now in Topper
as well as he is working on restore the musical pride of Tegelhögen
and in the area, as well as he is an recreational leader.
My
girlfriend was a taboo fan back in the days and used to hang out at
Tegelhögen. Which could be pretty wild gatherings sometimes. In the
early days of Swedish punk those centres was very important to all
punk bands that wanted to make an impact och the young punks. (My
girlfriend got a nostalgia flashback of epic proportions while
smoking a cigarette outside the building. Telling me stories of the
wild years.)
This wednesday it was almost empty, Most punks
today are grown ups, not kids.
A bunch of lost
imigrant kids where there, I recognized some, dead end kids as they
sometimes poetic is described in punk lyrics. A few leather jacket
clad girls in their younger teens show up, as well as some girl
friends of the Stiffy Jones, me and my girlfriend. It was so far from
the club the night before.
There was no bar or
fashionable punks, no fancyness, just boring everyday things, Brick
walls, a stage that was too big for the few that are there to see it.
This could been what Iggy Pop refered to as No Fun.
But that was
just an illusion.
The Bands
Stiffy Jones
Stiffy Jones first gig
was at the same place 9 years ago, now they were back. And treated
the situation like they were playing for an overcrowded club.
OK, there was a bit too
much treble this time as well. Not as bad as the night before
however. But their performance was better, more intensed. I guess
they learned a bit from SB the night before? Stiffy Jones convinced
me that they are a good band.
The suburbian kids might got a bit
of a chock with high volume, or at least they looked a bit chocked by
it. This was not their average hip hop dreams about fake gangsta
escapism. This was punk rock. And I could see the music reached them.
Some just shook their bodies spontainiosly along to the high volume
music.
Strawberry Blondes
Strawberry Blondes were
in the midle of their European tour. I guess they could be a bit fed
up with it, I guess they could be taking a day off just relax through
this gig. But no. They really proved why they are a truly great band,
a band who gained all my respect.
Actually I think I saw
one of the best performances all year. Not even a week after Sham 69,
the same year Stiff Little Fingers, Dropkick Murphys, Bad Religion,
Asta Kask and Alonzo Fas 3, been raiding the country. They did
delivered for real. Not being on stage as rockstars, but as speaking
voice for all the underdogs. Being a true to the heart is in my eyes
not about being a cool rock star on stage, Dr Marten boots and some
fashionista haircut. It is about the social bit as well. Being there,
supporting the underdogs.
I think you guys just outscored them
all, all the rock stars.
My tears came during ”Goodbye
Inspiration”. Shivers down my spine, total sober. A dull thursday
their music took me to a emotional place where only good bands, great
music and a some special occation takes me. But that moment was
short, because a bass string broke and cripple it. OH NO not now, she
said! The situation was brilliant rescued by the bass player and
Stiffy Jones. But the magic moment was gone. Standing there in the
suburb surronded by the underdog kids listen to a punk rock band
singing ”Goodbye Inspiration”, well, something was shaken inside
me. Shaken, in a good way. I will probaly never forget that moment.
It was something outside the average punk club experience.
I loved
every single moment of it. Then it was over.
The bands got their
gear. While collecting them, Jocke encouraged one of the kids to
enter the stage, grab the mice and do his rap. Which lead to a big
applause from both the other kids, us and the bands.
That was
it, the band Strawberry Blondes continued on their European tour,
with another gig in Stockholm, at a sold out Klubben at Fryshuset.
So
The entrance was free,
it was a total shame that the kids didn´t showed up in big numbers
when they could get a glimpse of the real world, real rock stars from
the real world. But as the drummer of Strawberry Blondes said. -The
kids today is into all that crappy music, I agree.
Some extra cred to
Jocke H that made Strawberry Blondes and Stiffy Jones do this.
