Concert Review by Kris Griffiths
Mean Fiddler, London – 25 November 2002
The British music press have been salivating over ‘The New Rock Revolution’ for quite some time now and placed firmly at the forefront are New Zealand garage punk rockers The D4. Kerrang have since picked up on their rawk marketability and placed them firmly at the forefront of their K-Fest launch night with British Sea Power, The Briefs and Mikabomb squeezed in behind. And squeezed into the venue is a surprisingly ample crowd of punters who have braved the awful London weather to go mad on a Monday night. They will be given a lengthy run for their money.
Keeping the Hove fires burning are Brighton boys British Sea Power and they are indeed a bunch of weirdoes. One is dressed in full military garb complete with blue Nazi-style helmet whilst the bassist sports a headpiece sprouting what appear to be large branches or antlers. A heavier and crazier version of Joy Division, their shambolic set culminates with the blue helmet man jumping offstage and wandering around the venue thwacking a large bass drum.
Whilst Britain excels in sea power and eccentricity, Australasia currently excels in the revolution’s superlative rock music snaking onto our shores via The Vines and driven by The Datsuns. The D4 soon saunter onstage, fronted by sideburned singer Jimmy Christmas and backed by the brilliantly named Beaver on drums. They immediately let loose GET LOOSE onto a sufficiently warmed-up crowd and from that point onwards the tunes and tempo remain fixed at a highly charged constant.
Although maintaining the rabid atmosphere, this lack of deviation also serves to highlight their musical shortcomings – the material is all roaring powerchords strung at the same speed with lyrical content confined mainly to parties, rock ‘n’ roll and motherfuckers. Indeed, when Jimmy occasionally stops to address the audience it is only to issue orders to “Rock!” and “Party!” Quite a demanding chap.
The splendidly titled ROCKNROLL MOTHERFUCKER flies past frenetically alongside most of the debut album 6TWENTY and new single COME ON! And just when it appears the sweat-soaked outfit can’t rock any harder they abruptly down tools and disappear into the backstage abyss. It is a good while later, when many of us have trudged back upstairs to join the cloakroom crew, that one hears the muted racket of the band taking to the stage again. But in the nicest possible way lads, we’ve seen enough.
