Valentines Massacre

Posted on 23rd Feb 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Giveamanakick" Warlords of Pez " Live at Roisin Dubh
Author: Hubert McIntyre

Raving insanity" chaos" and actual" real bloodshed descended on Galway"s Roisin Dubh at the weekend for the Valentine"s Massacre" the unholy matrimony of Limerick"s notorious noise peddlers" giveamanakick" and the twisted intergalactic genius of the Warlords Of Pez.

But before the audio holocaust we have" So Cow "strangely mis"spelled on the posters as "Sexcow""" an unusual choice surely to start off a gig like this. In a striking contrast to the ensuing chaos of the Warlord"s eight"strong army of masked lunatics" So Cow stands alone on the stage" bespectacled and curly of hair" backed by a drum machine and wielding a guitar. Lo"fi tunes" wry" knowing lyrics" and witty crowd banter are the order of the day. "I"m sweating like Christy Moore"" he jokes between songs. Most of the bloodthirsty" giveamanaPez fans are yet to arrive" but the people who managed to catch this perpetual support act" one man show" are not disappointed. He manages to make a considerable racket all on his own and finishes off his show with a standout track" "League Of Impressionable Teens"" after which he uses all that empty stage space to leap around and wrestle his guitar to the floor" batter it to death" then start doing push"ups on his amp while the guitar continues to wail like a dying animal. Rowdy stage antics" Don"t you just love them"

giveamanakick "strangely mis"spelled on the posters as "giveamanakiss"" don"t need to rely on any kind of antics to make an impression. Brutal force is their main weapon of mass disruption" drawing a huge sound from just two band members and three elements: guitar" voice and drums" although there"s absolutely nothing minimal about the sound the two lads manage to produce. Three songs in" singer and guitarist Steve straps on a clever little invention of his: a gasmask microphone device that distorts his voice to sound like a deranged" loudspeaker canvassing politician" screaming obscenities from a passing car. The next few songs are performed with the distortion mask on" adding a real sense of frenzied aggression to the set. When the mask comes off" Steve points out that his nose has been bleeding inside the mask "the aforementioned bloodshed". "That"s pretty cool " blood" like"" says Steve" and this audience agrees. He finishes off tonight"s set by strapping on a tiny" but still deafeningly loud guitar for the last track" and then joining Keith on the drums for some Safri"Duo inspired "maybe" double tub"thumping action.

giveamanakick have been fast becoming one of the Irish underground"s favourite bands. A lot of the people here tonight are fans" head banging right on time along with Keith"s furious drums. They played at last years Electric Picnic at the ridiculous time of one O" clock on Sunday afternoon" as well as Ireland"s best"kept secret" the excellent Mantua Lives festival in Roscommon. They"ll be recording their third album in Letterkenny in early May" "and I have it on good information that it will definitely not be called: "Snot"" before playing on the stupidly named" but potentially big break" 2fm 2moro 2our" "2"" in May along with Messiah J And The Expert and The Flaws" which looks set to bring their hardcore" loud as an army of angry"giant"loud"things sound to a new audience of impressionable young ears.

Its impossible to find out any useful" realistic information about the Warlords Of Pez" so I think the best way to report on them is on their own terms. The Warlords" so" were created six billion light years away" by zillionaire genius" Dr Burglestein" in deep galactic space. They found a cult underground following among aliens" robots" and robot"aliens with their combination of "Deepspace Death Metal " Low"Light Sex Cabaret with a twist of New Age Electric Bongo Madness". They have also been said to "eat lightning and shit magic".

But seriously" this kind of outfit" like Tenacious D or Goldie Looking Chain" are judged mainly on their ability to make you laugh. Using sick humour" absurd lyrics and heaps of bizarre pantomime posturing" they get the job done" rocking the Roisin harder than its been rocked in the last few months in the process. They encourage most of the crowd to stop moshing and kneel down on the ground for one tune" haul a pair of unsuspecting punters onstage to snog for free booze" and throw mic stands into the stage in a ridiculous spectacle of behemoth proportions. Every band member has their own slipknot style" signature facemask" from Dr Burglestein"s floppy giraffe"head" to one of the singer"s D.I.Y. fly"head mask" seemingly made out of two kitchen sieves. One of the band has the sole duty of standing motionless at the front of the stage" a huge flip chart strapped to her otherwise naked body with the titles and words of each song written on it" each page being ripped off and flung into the mosh"pit to be thrown around and eventually ripped to pieces.

Their songs clock in mostly around the thirty"second mark" with only the deliciously silly" "Monster Voice" getting past two minutes. "First verse" "I want to sing in a monster"s voice"" second verse" "I want to sing in a baby"s voice"" etc." Other songs include" "I Don"t Know You"" where the caped Burglestein points at different members of the crowd singing" "I don"t know you" I don"t know you" I don"t know you" I don"t know you" I KNOW YOU" I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE"" Other highlights are intro "Simply The Pez"" a warped" out of tune rendition of Tina Turner"s 80"s hit" and "Padre Pio"" which consists of various songs like "Macarena" and Snow"s "Informer"" with the words: "Padre Pio"" replacing all lyrics. The pop culture references come think and fast" from "Barney Shwarzenegger"s" refrain of "give me your clothes" your boots and your motorcycle"" to the Rage Against The Machine inspired call of: "Beans" black pudding" sausages" all of which is an Irish breakfast" all of which is an Irish breakfast". Dr Burglestein caps a terrifying performance with a crowd surf around the room and back to the stage for some victorious" fascist dictator style posing. The sight of a tall caped man in a balaclava with a floppy giraffe mask on his head" now looking the worse for wear" accepting praise from a rabid crowd while throwing shapes like Mussolini: an image from a surreal" sometimes disturbing night" and one that might well haunt me for the rest of my days.

For more info:
http://www.myspace.com/socow
http://www.myspace.com/giveamanakick
http://www.myspace.com/warlordsofpez
http://www.roisindubh.net/

Photo Credit: Paudie Scanlon
www.flickr.com/photos/boardy