November 2, 2005
Kingsize Operator
It was a pleasant surprise to find Kingsize Operator on the bill tonight, they mysteriously disappeared for a while and we haven’t seen them since the BOTB here in 2004. They opened with a familiar track Searching and it was immediatly apparant that the new addition of ex-Grain bassist Scott was going to work brilliantly. His dominant funky style fits with Kingsize like Tony Blair’s lips to Bush’s ass, it was obvious they were made to be together.?The guitars mix eerie and distant whimpers with fast and funky breakdowns, this mixed with the clear and diverse vocal patterns give them great dynamics to build atmosphere well. The tight and simple drums and backing tracks hold the songs together well, giving the guitars, bass and vocal license to roam.?Even though there were some technical difficulties at times, Kingsize Operator kept it constantly upbeat and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. It was a welcome return for one of Nottingham’s most classy and soulful funk-rock bands.
http://www.myspace.com/kingsizeoperator
Desert Smile
After that laid back, chilled-out beginning to the night we are slapped in the face with a hard kipper by Desert Smile, who travelled the short distance from Newark to show us that 80’s rock is still very much alive and kicking or in this case alive and head banging. With driving guitar riffs, that burst into crazy finger tapping soloes and deep growling vocal hooks, Desert Smile write monsterous riffs that thump forward with the dynamic drumming and sleazy bass lines. The song structures are simple and build slowly up, before being taken over by big shouting choruses and chunky riffs, Menz Raya might have just have found their soul mates here. The lyrics are pretty dodgy and with the cheese factor whacked up to full, the leather pants and big mullets quickly take over. It does have some original influences though and with some nice breakdowns that show signs of funk, R n B and even Ska, there is a differnt twist to this old skool style. A lot of songs started sounding a bit similar and got a little repetitive but it was a fun show and with a vocalist who had a strong voice and a impressive lead guitarist they put on a good party rock n roll performance. This could be Newark’s answer to Spinal Tap, American high school drama drenched in rich stilton sauce and long fizzy hair.
http://www.myspace.com/desertsmileband
Menz Raya
So to tonights finale, Menz Raya drive straight in with fierce riffs, stupid soloes, big cheesy chanting vocal hooks and prove that Desert Smile are not the only band preaching the 80’s hair metal bible. If Desert Smile are a Mcdonald’s Cheeseburger then Menz Raya are the Burger King Big Whopper, it has more cheese, more beef and even though your doctor will tell you neither is good for you, everyone has to have one sometime. Now, we have seen Menz Raya several times, but tonight was definatly one of the best performances yet. Their covers are still cheesy as hell and tonight some were pretty awful with mistakes and a lack of togetherness but their own material is really starting to get a good style of its own. The driving, catchy hooks and riffs are held together by some awesome drumming, which is diverse and strong whilst keeping the songs tight and adding variety. This combined with simple pushing basslines and big chanitng vocals makes Menz Raya’s songs catchy but gives them a grungy edge adding power and emotion to their often cheesy, tongue in cheek 80’s rock influence. With the wandering lead guitar soloes and stupid stage antics, they never fail to put on a fun and energetic show but if they keep writing songs with as much power and feeling and can keep the covers as tight as their own material then Menz Raya could grow into a class act.
Reviewed by: Steph
