{"id":2118,"date":"2015-06-05T19:17:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T18:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eyeplug.net\/magazine\/?p=2118"},"modified":"2011-06-04T20:03:33","modified_gmt":"2011-06-04T20:03:33","slug":"what-would-jesus-drive-the-eyelids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/what-would-jesus-drive-the-eyelids\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT WOULD JESUS DRIVE \/ THE EYELIDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven Go Psycho In Cornwall<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

WWJD\/The Eyelids: Friday 27 May, Penzance, Studio Bar<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve not been before, the Studio Bar\u2019s not so easy to find. It\u2019s basically a blue\/grey door, next to a patch of \u2018urban art\u2019 round the back of Bread Street. But there\u2019s a pub down the road that serves generous rum and coke \u2013 my tip is to sit outside and wait for the Eyelids to go past, then follow them.<\/p>\n

Once inside, it\u2019s evident that the venue has recently undergone something of a refurbishment, with patches of new plaster still drying on the ceiling. Still, both bands blasting through their soundchecks proved sufficient heat to bake that nicely. The temperature levels increased as the venue filled, and reached boiling point as the Eyelids opened up tonight\u2019s double-header, belting through a set that seemed to shoot by in the blink of an eye, but still included around a dozen laboratory fresh examples of splicing psychobilly DNA to helixes of coruscating garage rock.<\/p>\n

Undaunted by the necessity of some running repairs on a stricken double bass, the Eyelids\u2019 titanic rhythm section of Michelle and Louise lock together to provide a geologically solid foundation for Gary\u2019s Soviet valve fuelled guitar frenzy and Kelly\u2019s black freighter grounding siren song. As Gary pitches his not-inconsiderable woo at all-comers, bladders fill and one stricken thrill-seeker hobbles toward the target of her desire, borne upon aluminium crutches. Some fancy footwork averts a disastrous tangle of surgical appliance, mic stand and double bass, and our intrepid invader lurches on toward the venue\u2019s ladies\u2019 khazi, handily placed behind the stage.<\/p>\n

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Louise's mighty bass paw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the Eyelids\u2019 set reaches its vertex with a monumental rendering of crowd favourite \u2018Burke The Butcher\u2019, some manic frugging breaks out around of the room. The quartet return to perform an encore that speaks directly to the people who live in our heads and leaves all panting for yet more Eyelid frenzy. But not this night \u2013 that\u2019ll have to wait \u2018til Sunday.<\/p>\n

What Would Jesus Drive blast into action as the witching hour draws near, set opener \u2018Masquerade\u2019 detonating like a sonic stick grenade in the confined space. Many here, catching the band for the first time, are unaware that the group are short on personnel; Gemma \u2013 sadly stricken \u2013 is absent. Ignorance, in this context, is bliss \u2013 as the remaining trio add an extra dimension to their trademark punktronic sound, established across three EPs and one mighty debut album.<\/p>\n

Tighter than the proverbial ant\u2019s foreskin, the Jesuses\u2019 combination of Amy\u2019s booming bass, Tim\u2019s Saturn V guitar, and John\u2019s electronic alchemy pushes superheated waves of air across the room, forcing their infectious sound into every corner via a series of devastating sonic bursts. It\u2019s fortunate that the Studio Bar hadn\u2019t had time to paint their newly plastered ceiling, or WWJD would have stripped that shit straight offa there with sheer, visceral energy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a set peppered with highlights \u2013 the storming, psychotic \u2018Transylvania Time\u2019; the kitchen sink domestic incident \u2018Girls Are In Charge\u2019, and the megalithic \u2018Your Awful Kids\u2019 all heave and shudder their way into the collective consciousness, before \u2013 all too soon \u2013 we\u2019ve reached the anthemic finale of \u2018Fragile Mansions\u2019. Then, after some efficient car park limbo involving a chain, almost a dozen people and a small car, both bands are depart into the night, leaving naught but trace echoes and spent bodies as their calling cards.<\/p>\n

WWJD\/Nick Skuse\/We\u2019re Still Breathing\/Petite Debauche\/Pete Clogg: Saturday, 28 May, Wall Farm, Tishfest<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the Jesi off to perform at a (Nuremberg) rally for VW Beetle owners in Plymouth, the rest of us are left to wander through the bleary morning mist for this year\u2019s Tishfest. Yesterday\u2019s warm sunshine, has given way to grey skies and intermittent drizzle that would dampen the spirits of less hardy festival-goers. But not here, and not today \u2013 fuelled by a veritable smorgasbord <\/em>of tasty home-cooked tucker and fortified by all manner of home brewed brown booze, the attendees are strewn across the site engaging in all manner of activities laid on by our hosts.<\/p>\n

After some early hassles with the generator, a jam jar full of precious petrol gets us underway with Pete Clogg\u2019s acoustic folk stylings, which demonstrated not only his mastery of the form, but also his command of the French language. His well-received set is followed by Petite Debauche, whose languid reflective sound is more suited to hot, endless sojourns spent in some kind of mythic glade, than the damp froideur<\/em> of this particular Saturday afternoon. The gathering crowd needs warming up, rather than chilling out, and as polite applause gives way to spreading indifference, the quartet\u2019s lengthy set sadly seemed like an increasingly evident matter of wrong band\/wrong day.<\/p>\n

The afternoon wore on and We\u2019re Still Breathing picked up the baton to provide some much-needed light relief via a series of eclectic 80s cover versions, delivered in deadly deadpan style. Hits such as the Cure\u2019s \u2018Love Cats\u2019, Depeche Mode\u2019s \u2018Just Can\u2019t Get Enough\u2019 and a faithfully Germanic rendering of Nina\u2019s \u201999 Red Balloons\u2019 lifted spirits and drew smiles. They are followed by Nick Skuse \u2013 perhaps best known as lead guitarist in local legends Elephanthead (who were unable to appear on account of several of their number either being incarcerated or in rehab). Undaunted, Skuse seized the opportunity for sedition, reversing the accepted norm by heckling his audience, and after rattling through some engaging solo material, was joined on stage by a backing band for a muscular twelve-bar workout.<\/p>\n

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WWJD kick out the jams (and other preserves) at Wall Farm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As twilight fell and the wailing and gnashing of teeth from a group of sporting enthusiasts viewing the death of Manchester United echoed through the darkening air, What Would Jesus Drive arrived fresh from a mid-afternoon appearance at the Volksfest and a medieval banquet. Scarcely pausing to set aside their horns of mead, the trio rook the stage and quite simply detonated<\/em>. A shorter set (due to local restrictions) than the previous night\u2019s created a pied-piper like effect, as festival goers converged on the stage from all corners of the camp to catch the group on scintillating form. Surly youths dropped their i-Phones and began to dance, and the sense of joy bounced from band to crowd and back again, culminating in a transcendent penultimate \u2018Fragile Mansions\u2019 and a fun filled four-letter free encore. It\u2019s not easy to blow the roof off at an open air gig, but WWJD managed it tonight.<\/p>\n

The Eyelids\/WWJD: Sunday, 29 May, Live Bar, Truro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tonight\u2019s gig at the tiny Live Bar was a celebratory affair, as both bands let their hair down to party with one another and the cognoscenti who had turned out to catch the second show of their titanic team up. This time around, the Jesuses opened up and despite John needing to nursemaid a sampler that seemed bent\u00a0on making noises like a strangled Clanger at every opportunity, the trio belted through a set \u2013 that on account to repeated hearings across the weekend \u2013 was beginning to sound like some perfect rendering of the Hit Parade from some advanced technocracy. Like The Eyelids, WWJD possess an abundance of unstoppably groovable numbers that work their way into your Fissure of Rolando and stick there. Glowing.<\/p>\n

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The Eyelids - You'll always want more<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sunday night licensing laws ate perniciously into the time available for both bands’ sets, so there was no time for any of Gary\u2019s trenchant observations and essentially libellous anecdotes. Instead, the Eyelids crashed through a fat-free set, cherry picking several of their most riotous numbers and culminating in an encore of their (criminally as-yet-unreleased) classic, \u2018We Always Want More\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare to see a genuinely great band these days, rarer still to catch two<\/em>, together<\/em>, twice<\/em>. But that\u2019s the way it is. EYEPLUG can only recommend that you check out both bands\u2019 sites for future gigs, and haul your asses out to see them at the first opportunity. You\u2019ll thank us. These are bands that will leave an impression on your hearts, minds and, quite possibly, the front of your house. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0What Would Jesus Drive: www.whatwouldjesusdrive.co\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Eyelids: www.myspace.com\/theeyelidsband<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eye See Sound: \u00a0www.eyeseesound.tv\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seven Go Psycho In Cornwall WWJD\/The Eyelids: Friday 27 May, Penzance, Studio Bar If you\u2019ve not been before, the Studio Bar\u2019s not so easy to find. It\u2019s basically a blue\/grey door, next to a patch of \u2018urban art\u2019 round the back of Bread Street. But there\u2019s a pub down the road that serves generous rum …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,74],"tags":[151,121,266,267,285],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live","category-reviews","tag-dick-porter","tag-eyeplug","tag-the-eyelids","tag-what-would-jesus-drive","tag-wwjd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2118"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=2118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}