We walked in just as THE BROTHERS OF BRAZIL came on and almost fell over Glen Matlock who was propping up the back wall of the 100 club!
By the time we had got some beer and found a decent spot it was already apparent that the Brothers of Brazil were a hell of a duo playing tropicalia punk with the odd leaning towards the white stripes stripped down blueprint. The first song that totally sold me on them was I Hate The Beatles wherein they nail everything I hate about the Beatles and a knowledge that they hate them for being so ubiquitous for so long. At the same time they had nice harmonies going on as the punkier looking drummer threw a few shapes while beating the hell out of his kit and the singer guitarist worked miracles on his Gibson (what looked like a solid bodied semi acoustic but I'm no expert.)
They made everyone smile and laugh on I Love The French and effortlessly switched languages between English, French and Portuguese. They dedicated The Papparazzi to Amy Winehouse and the screams and yelps through this song were an incredible contrast to the sweet vocal harmonies also on show.
Hustler Girl (which I think is called Take the money and run away to Brazil) had an almost bossa nova beat and could have been an old Edie Gorme tune until you listened to the lyrics about a girl on the make.
Then they had a good rant and rave about Liberty and Viva Liberty in which the drummer did more of the singing but they had the whole crowd with them by then and there were quite a few people singing along that only increased on their version of Valeu Meninos that segued nicely into the Brothers Of Brazil Theme Tune. That closed there set during which they had won over a large part of the audience. The drummer had barely got off the stage when he was pounced on by a couple of Japanese girls for photos and autographs and there merch stall was very busy indeed. Get the self titled album on Sideone Dummy Records and now available from www.brothersofbrazil.com.
Next on was TRIXY MALICIOUS who did a couple of dances from behind her feathers and damn can that girl shake her thing in all the right places. She was a nice little interlude before tonights headliners try to get on the stage.
Well as usual the URBAN VOODOO MACHINE came swaying onto the stage to the normal Intro music and once the main dozen were on stage launched into the theme and we were off on another brilliant set from Paul Ronny Angel and the boys and girls.
Cheers For The Tears has that great bittersweet edge to it as Paul recounts getting a phone call from a girl who had heard he'd been found face down in the Regents Canal! Thankfully an untrue rumour but the band play it up and the song has a good lament type feel to it. As ever they are switching and changing instruments, so it's hard to keep up with what or how many instruments Joe Whitney plays during the show.
In Black & Red is what they are and what they sing about, Not With You is a a great song about life after a break up and all the things we'll no longer be doing together. Train Wreck Blues doesn't quite replicate a train wreck live like Tom Verlaine can but certainly seems to celebrate the train wreck of someone's life.
Love song 666 always makes me smile and tonight is no different with a good introduction to make sure dimwitted reviewers like myself have no doubt about what its called and No, he didn't fuck my brother and make love to my mother!! Baby You Shot Me Down saw plenty of hi jinks between Paul and Nick Marsh with the drumming madness of the Late J Roni Moe and Jary really getting going as it was time for Killer Sound which they certainly have and Slim was more than able to get out of the piano.
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They went Down By The River for some proper sleazy blues that can only be redeemed by a spell in Rehab which was the cue for a bottle of Bourbon to be passed around the stage. Do any of this band need to go to rehab? Surely not - more likely to retox!! A Can Of Worms is what you'd open if you suggested as much I'm sure.
The raucous dance floor classic that is Go East was next as Paul explained he was celebrating 19 years of living in London before we get into the almost maudlin section of Orphans Lament and Heroin Put my Brothers in the Ground: only live they make both these tunes into almost upbeat romps, the latter almost coming across as a celebration of the dead if not the method of dying, so please stay off of that stuff as getting involved with Smack is certainly a High Jeopardy Thing. That was not only the next song but also the new single that was being launched at this gig along with the latest edition of Vive Le Rock magazine. The single was apparently written by Nick and Paul one afternoon at Pauls place. They then got as oompah as they can for Good Bye to Another Year that closed the main set.
As an opener for the encore Lucifire came on with her dad Will Hampel who had already been up as a special guest and he played a piano rag while she sang over it. Then the rest of the band came back on and Paul insisted that the Brothers Of Brazil joined them to make about 16 people onstage as the went Down In A Hole during which both Brothers looked a little uncertain of how much to join in. But once Paul had given his guitar to one of them and the rest of the band had launched into Tequila they went for it.
By this point there were 4 people playing the drums which was perfect fo Ha Ha Ha ha Don't You Just Know it and in the rag tag way of their encore rave ups soon enough they were romping through Suzy Q and Baby Please Don't Go. That was just about there and they still managed to stomp all over That's What I Say to finish things off and leave us all worn out by the sheer energy of the show.
If you still haven't seen the Urban Voodoo Machine live what are you waiting for? They are easily one of the most entertaining live bands around at the moment.
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