It's been eight years since I last saw Electric Boys live, that time playing across the road at The Roundhouse opening for Europe and Dare, this time they were headlining in the still fairly new Camden Club, that is a venue in what used to be Belgo's Belgian brasserie, that we soon found out had super overpriced drinks and some rather intrusive steel columns in the middle of the mosh pit.
We arrived in time for the last few songs of Rich Ragany's opening solo set as the ex-Role Model and front man of The Digressions was picking his way through a heartbroken song. He then went into Don't Try that was nicely down at heel and bedraggled. He has been a perennial opening act for years now, including opening for AJ and Conny when they were in Hanoi Rocks, that has often given him too many Heartbreaks and plenty of disappointment that get wrapped up in this heartfelt song. Rich closed his set with a cool version of Johnny Thunders Gypsy as he got his guitar to ring with some very Thundersesque flourishes.
It was soon time for Marc Valentine to continue his Basement Sparks tour to promote his second solo album since the demise of Last Great Dreamers. They opened with an impassioned version of Swiss Launderette off Future Obscure that had some tasty guitar interplay between Marc and Richard Davies. I think the next song was Linear Slopes, Marc sang about the highs and lows of life.
Strange Weather was dark and stormy with the first clear keyboard lines from Neil Scully. They were soon glamming it up Running All Night that had some wonderfully louche and loose guitar that was also super tight. The Jinx Of Finchley Road was a brilliant song and I want to hear more closely, as its not on either of his solo albums.
This week of all weeks Eve Of Distraction rings like a totally true reflection of our times, Richard Davies really worked his serpentine magic on it. Arcades kept the pace up and the brilliant interplay between Marc and Richard's guitars that wove around the keyboard lines.
Marc then claimed I Wanna Be Alone Tonight a strange thing to ask for, while playing live gigs, but it sounded great none the less. Broken Satellites has tinges of regret built into the glammy guitar lines wondrously.
Mornington Avenue was wallowing in bedsit sleaze in all the right ways before they closed with the immense Last Train Tonight they tried to get that last train home once more to close another great fun set from Marc Valentine.
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Electric Boys came on and after some tuning up launched into Ready To Believe that had Conny Bloom and Slim Martin Thomander swapping licks and getting some sleazy grooves on. Groovus Maximus was huge, it always is live, with AJ Christell's bassline holding it all down, Conny let rip and got everyone grooving with them.
Super God has Slim giving us his best 70's guitar god poses, this dark twisted song really got going. Electrified was brilliant with so much funk mixed into the band's glam rock blues template, they all looked like they were having a blast.
Conny did his best cheeky lover man routine on You Spark My Heart, it was almost as if his trousers weren't quite tight enough to make the point. Everyone sang along to Rags To Riches driven along by Jolle Atlagic's imperious drumming.
I've Got A Feelin' was on the edge of a grand explosion, with Andy's bassline front and centre, allowing Conny plenty of room to get his point across. Domestic Blitz gave hints that they might not be the 24-7party animals they play up to, Conny and Slim swapped lead lines effortlessly.
They had a New York Dolls sleazy rock & roll feel to Mary In The Mystery World that had everyone singing along with them, Conny was having great fun with this. Before they closed the set with Angel In An Armoured Suit that had plenty of the bands patented swang to it, along with lots of call and response including a fade out.
It was inconceivable that they wouldn't play an encore and soon enough they returned to play the bands biggest hit All Lips 'N Hips that got everyone going and having loads of fun. They then closed the night with the long instrumental Better Safe Than Sober that had a Hendrix style edge to it and amazingly closed with a few bars of Jesus Christ Superstar to leave everyone grinning and happy.
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