Mathew Street was rammed with football fans (it was the Athens game between AC Milan and Liverpool). So you can imagine how crushed the locals must have been by the result.
It's a pity because if they were taking any notice, they would have realized that there was a free music festival going on. The International Pop Overthrow is now in its fifth year, featuring a staggering 150 bands over seven days. Although this was just the second night of the festival, the crowd missed out on a worthwhile band from across the pond. I’m talking about GRINGO STAR.
Hailiing from Atlanta, Georgia, this was their second trip to the UK this year and they certainly looked the part. Peter Furgiuele was wearing a Sgt. Pepper styled jacket, whilst his brother Nick wore a business suit. These guys were indeed the business as they delivered a blistering set of Psychedelic indie influenced power pop.
Three of the members took to the drum stool at one time or another, whilst each member sang lead vocals on at least one song. This democracy and changeover of instruments and styles kept their music fresh and original. Unfortunately they didn't get much of an opportunity to shine here, as the turnout didn't do band justice.
So I decided to watch them again the following night in the Cavern Pub across the road, this time with a friend of mine (it’s helpful to get a second opinion) and he seemed to agree with my sentiments. Chatting to Peter Delorenzo after the gig, he pointed out that the band had no motivation about getting signed to any label. This is confirmed by the fact the band have already put out five self released albums. He also mentioned in their schedule that they were booked to play a high school the following day. Aww.
Their latest six track CD, simply called Gringo Star, features the track ‘Transmission’ penned by Delorenzo and was one of the highlights of their set. Things seem to be more happening for them on this excursion but just as they were getting on a roll, they were asked again to cut short their set. These guys had been robbed, my friend seemed to think so too.
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Catching the Gringos again also gave me a chance to check out another band. So it was the back to The Cavern Club to check out THE DIODES.
A fresh faced photo of the group in the IPO brochure suggested that these guys were a young energetic power pop outfit. As we entered the back stage area however all I could see were four middle aged guys attempting to recapture their lost youth. My mate pointed out that these guys looked as if they were twenty years too late.
What we both didn’t realize was that these were one of the original punk bands. In fact these legends from Canada were part of a New Wave of punk bands, which featured The Ramones, who they share a slight resemblance to in sound.
These veterans are currently signed up to Bongo Beat Records and this was a showcase for acts on that label. Their lead singer obviously relished the role as the band soldiered through a set of no nonsense power punk. Their finale was the anthem ‘Tired Of Waking Up Tired’, which could be compared to The Undertones ‘Teenage Kicks’. Their memorable signature tune rounded things off very nicely.
http://www.myspace.com/thegringostars
http://www.myspace.com/thediodes
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