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Review: 'L7, Black Moth, Love Zombies'
'Live at the Electric Ballroom Camden'   


-  Genre: 'Punk/New Wave' -  Release Date: '16.6.15.'

Our Rating:
Yes L7 are back for a reunion tour with the bands classic line-up as original drummer Roy Koutsky never got the call and let's face it most fans if asked to name L7's original drummer would just say Dee Plakas anyway. Having been a fan since that night in 1988 I guess when John Peel played the incredible Bloodstains for the first time and then having to wait 2 years to actually see them live and every time I asked for the bands records in shops getting blank looks until I finally found the debut album and soon after it Smell The Magic came out and suddenly everyone seemed to know who they were it was a big deal to me hearing they were back with us again.

Over the bands original run I think I saw almost every headlining London show they played from the first one at the Bull & Gate with Teenage Fanclub through to the rather sad last one at the Mean Fiddler or LA2 whatever it was called at the time to a half full club so the news that this show sold out in under an hour was great to hear.

We got in just before Love Zombies came on stage to open the night and I'm glad we did as they were great fun with a singer who seems to be a cross between Cindy Lauper and Pat Benetar but with a dash or two of Lene Lovich and Dinah Cancer they were just mad enough and with good catchy songs the highlights of me being the song about never wanting to see you again that was one of the songs that had a Keytar solo on it I think.

They seemed to be having loads of fun and made most of the people who showed up early smile and the two songs they finished with Gasoline and Birthday certainly need to be heard by a good sized audience. I want to see them play again even if it's as a support act as they are a good fun opener.

Next on were Black Moth who were an altogether different prospect who had pretty much given us the breadth of their act before the singer had even opened her mouth on the first song as they started as they meant to go on as a full on very down tuned doomy sludge metal band whose main twist is having a female singer who sounds a bit like Grace Slick on a boat load of downers. They would have been the perfect opening act when Megadeth played at the Electric Ballroom a couple of years ago but were just too down tuned and sludgy for L7.

The longer Black Moth's set went on the more boring they became and not even a couple of quite incredible guitar solos could lift the torpor they wanted to envelop the Ballroom in as the solos were so low slung as to barely lift them off the ground it was more of a relief than anything when there set ended to a smattering of applause and finally the lights went back up from the gloomy smoke and lights they played under. I spoke to a few people afterwards and everyone said they were bored by Black Moth so only go see them if you really like dark sludge.

Still no one was here for the supports and soon enough the place went totally nuts when Suzi Gardner, Dee Plakas, Jennifer Finch and Donita Sparks came on and tried to make themselves heard over the deafening cheers as they opened with Deathwish as they sounded every bit as good as they did back in the glory years and the entire Ballroom went nuts. Just like the old days they didn't pause for breath before going into Andres that seemed to have almost everyone singing the chorus at them.

Everglade got a massive response and sounded just great but it was the reception the place gave Monster that forced us to move a bit further back as this was the most hectic crowd I've been in since busting my shoulder but being a bit further back didn't matter as the sound was spot on as was just how full on was the performance they all looked like they couldn't believe how much the bands legend has increased in the 18 years since the classic line-up last played London.

As it ever was the interplay between the band and audience was great and just hearing that riff that opens Scrap again put a big grin on my face as I stood marveling at how great they sounded and looked. Fuel My Fire was pretty much the only song in the set I wouldn't have chosen to hear but then I'd have wanted at least one song from the debut album even if they never really played any of that first time round either!!

Still we didn't have to wait long for another hit to come along with a storming version of Diet Pill that was followed by Right On Thru sounded every bit like the sonic rollercoaster it's always been. Freak Magnet just piled on the riffs and kept up the pace of this fast set that seemed to be going past in a blur I think it was also when someone in front of us sparked up a spliff and got thrown out less than 30 seconds later, now in the old days that would have been me only no one ever got thrown out for doing that back then!

One More Thing had plenty of people chanting along to it as those riffs and Dee's drums pummeled into our minds before they played I Need which was the only song from The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum to make it into the set and it sounded pretty damn great too before they launched into Slide to make sure we got to hear almost all of Bricks Are Heavy.

As you'd expect Shove got the biggest pit of the evening as they place went properly mental for it and they then told us all once more about Mr Integrity and let's face it Integrity was always one of the things L7 had in spades and still do which could only mean it was time to close the set with a barnstorming sprint through Shitlist a song that seems more relevant with every passing year as the list of folks who deserve to be on said Shitlist just grows and grows.

Of course they came back for an encore even if the Ballroom didn't go anywhere near as nuts as it should have done. We were all soon enough drowning in American Society once more and again it seems to get more and more relevant as time goes on. Then as it should be we got the bands Biggest hit in the encore with a great version of Pretend We're Dead before they wrapped things up with the always brilliant Fast & Frightening a song that had been a highlight of that first headlining London show at the Bull & Gate all those years ago.

So glad that they realized how much we all missed them and that they are back sounding every bit as good as they ever did sadly unlike in the old days I didn't get to go to the after party as they always used to throw amazing ones no matter how messy they would get. Still if you get the chance to see this re-union and are a fan you will not be disappointed.
  author: simonovitch

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