The Lexington, London, UK29th July 2022
Blood Moon Wedding & Support: PollyPikPocketz and Rites Of Hadda
It’s getting into late summer now, the evenings are starting to draw in, but it’s still hot, it’s still humid and it’s still sweaty. The insects command more of the airspace than they did a few weeks ago, spiders have spun webs all around the house so everywhere I go I get a faceful of silk, along with a few bites around the ankles. Where do I go to get respite from this onslaught of arachnoid and Pancrustacean hexapod action?
The Lexington, that’s where. Situated about two miles away from where I reside on the Pentonville Road in Islington, the venue is a short walk from Angel Tube and Kings Cross Station. It markets itself as a “Classic London Boozer turned Lounge bar with a hint of Kentucky Charm and lashings of Rock N Roll excess”. I’ve not been to Kentucky so whether or not it has that charm I don’t know. I have been charmed by a bargain bucket though! It wouldn’t go as far as to say The Lexington is “Finger lickin’ good” but it’s alright, it’s a nice place for a gig. The high-ceilinged bar replete with drapes and cloth lampshades is down stairs and the venue is up a flight of stairs to the side of the building. Let’s go up and see what’s happening, shall we?
PollyPickPocketz
Grunge Punk Rock outfit POLLYPIKPOCKETZ opened the proceedings. They’ve been on the London music scene for a while now and can be seen live quite regularly because of their insatiable appetite for gigging. They’ve played venues and festivals the length and breadth of the UK such as The Fulford Arms in York, The New Cross Inn, London and The Santiago in Leeds. For further information on releases and their gig schedules you can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/pollypikpocketz
Music & Performance
Like a cross between THE STOOGES and THE SEX PISTOLS with early MADONNA on vocals, THE SEX PISTOOGES could be their alternative name. They are not one of my favourite bands, to be honest, they are a bit too garishly trash for my liking with all the colours of the rainbow and neon, it’s too in your face and my eyeballs can’t tolerate the onslaught. But having said that they played a good set tonight, I’ve no idea what any of the songs are called but every now and then a tune would pop up that interested my hips so they went off on a wiggle no matter what my head said. The track ‘Amneezia’ being a case in point. Lead singer Myura owns the stage as if she knows it better than her own home. Her stage presence is ripped large and any gaps where her energy has yet to seep soon fill with her septum-pierced charisma. The crowd danced whilst the photographers filled their lenses with coloured postures honed from years of practice. The set was very tight and groovy. That reminds me of something, what is it? Gay Bykers on Acid it would be. Musically, POLLYPIKPOCKETZ have the potential to grow on me more than they have previously. Let’s leave it there!
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Light: 6
Sound: 7
Total: 8 / 10
Rites of Hadda
I know nothing of this band other than to see their name pop up as support on other bands’ flyers. On doing some research I am informed that they’ve been on the circuit since around 2018, they formed out of squat jam sessions in Finsbury Park, North London and their influences vary from Anarcho Punk, BLACK SABBATH, CRASS, HAWKWIND and Paganism. More information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/ritesofhadda
Music & Performance
A man with a coloured shirt came out onto the stage carrying a saxophone and I thought to myself “Oh the next lot are gonna be jazzy prog!” Nope, it wasn’t! It was more jazzy Punk Trash and fronted by a camp bald chap wearing a spider headdress crossed with a frilly polyester bad idea cooked up in a haberdasher! Erm, I don’t know what to make of this other than it was shouty and camp, dissonant and melodic, hypnotic in places and shambolic in others. But also topped with an air of humorous “I don’t give a fuckery!” When the frilly polyester got too hot this was stripped off to reveal some black chiffon affair that criss-crossed the hairy chest whilst a see-through chiffon, I assume it was chiffon, skirt gave some cover to some patterned pants. The whole outfit was bottomed off with black boots whilst the other end was bedecked with black glasses. If I’d just walked into the venue and had a quick glance one could have easily mistaken the vista presented to you as Harry Hill trying out something other than a large collar! Later on in the set, a blond wig was set on head along with trashy makeup before being discarded for a red walnut whip wig and plastic translucent wings. Erm…
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Light: 6
Sound: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
And, after all this sensory overload and energy, we now take the pace down a notch or two for…
Blood Moon Wedding
BLOOD MOON WEDDING consist of trained opera singer Mia Dean, frontwoman for the Oakland California based band ANTLER FAMILY and Steve Lake, the lead vocalist of English alt rock group ZOUNDS, who on a listen through of their album ‘Can’t Cheat Karma’ sound like THE BUZZCOCKS crossed with THE FALL and early CURE. BLOOD MOON WEDDING have not been going for long but this show tonight is to showcase tracks from their new album coming out in early 2023 on Mobilization label. BLOOD MOON WEDDING are described as: “A road trip of horrors through an alternate reality” where the protagonists are “trapped in a shadow world where death and love are the only way through the gates of space and time”. More info can be found here: https://www.bloodmoonwedding.com/
Music & Performance
The set wasn’t a long one, how many tracks all together? About four or five if I remember. The songs were mournfully paced in a darkly crooning vibe that reminded me of KD Lang crossed with PJ Harvey, Mary Hopkin and Stevie Nicks. That’s just the female vocal, Steve Lake’s felt smoky and from the back of the throat, almost Neil Young. Not a lot of verse chorus verse going on here just ideas and refrains and sound ideas going off on a slow trot and then a canter. It was like Americana Gothic. There wasn’t an encore because they ran out of songs, even though the crowd wanted another song Steve Lake said they wouldn’t do an encore because they were not going to repeat themselves. But I liked it, If this gig was to iron out wrinkles and flaws in the material then I’m sure it did the job. When the album finally gets released and the back catalogue increases, I’m sure then that the crowd will get their wish for ‘Anuvva song’. The set was marred by Mia Dean’s mike not being turned up at the beginning and she could have done with another spotlight on her, apart from that, it was alright!
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 6
Light: 6
Sound: 7
Total: 7.5 / 10
All Photos by: Claudia Black
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