The Mekano Set

Still drunk from the night before? Not me! Possibly that means I may have to hand in my mekanoid membership card. I'm not sure, let's find out.

Saturday. Emerging like a bruise. Saturday is almost over. I have pretty much slept through all of it. Saturday didn't really happen. Friday was a blur. It was snowing.


Friday: The Engine Room

The night was assembled by Rock and Roll Sweatbox - a team that have focused on bringing some of Brighton's most original, crazed and entertaining acts to Brighton's live scenes. Tonight it's us, The Flesh Happening, and Grizzly Giant.

If Goldie Lookin' Chain were into guitars, they would be called Grizzly Giant, and they would perform their songs sporting beards, hoodies, and Y-fronts. No trousers. And for the first ten minutes of their set, this is exactly what Grizzly Giant do, with a totally fascinating ineptitude. No music. No songs. Just hairy men in pants.

They have loads of character and we're all waiting to see and hear what they do with it. But they don't seem to know what they are doing at all. And they do it for so long we start to wonder whether this is or is not 'all part of the act'. But it's all entertaining anyway.

A shaven-headed Grizzly in orange knickers comes on stage, staring like a labotomized skinhead. He glares at us like there is going to be a fight. He looks like he's looking for someone to chew on. Then he wets himself.

There is man-whizz leaking out and down onto the stage. Then he is gone, and the Grizzly suddenly kick into their real set - which consists of proper songs made up of two vocalists, guitar, keyboard, drum kit and drum machine. Some elements remind me of PiL, but sadly the details of the set don't stick in my mind simply because I couldn't stop thinking about the weeing orange knickers skinhead and the fact that they were performing in Y-fronts and hoodies.

They were alternative in a way that only alternative Welsh bands can be - something unique and authentic about their eccentricities: you get the impression that they are probably like this all the time, it's not just affectation... gimmick... something they didn't spend four years developing at a top London art school. Or studying the crowds of Hoxton bars. At the end of the night they helped us carry our stuff up to the street! Cheers Grizzlies!

I was in the bathroom while the shaven Grizzly explained to Oliver from The Flesh Happening that the 'bottle and tube' he was supposed to use to simulate a little accident, didn't do it's job, so he had to really wet himself...

Then we were on, and while everything went smoothly and apparently sounded fine out-front, I didn't quite get into the spirit of it. I actually had a few more techy things than usual to remember to do during the set, and I was also a bit too sober which maybe didn't help. We had reworked a lot of the beats for the evening, and I can now do live loops of 30 + seconds and I was a bit worried that it would get a bit out-of-hand too - but it worked fine. And Beth and Patrick put on a good show anyway. I don't think it helps that I am stuck behind a keyboard stand piled with cables and bits of kit.

New song 'The Shallow End' has lots of changes and things for us all to remember - and we did. Plus, it's got what almost sounds like a live electric guitar playing a 'riff' on it. And we virtually did our usual set in reverse order.

I wasn't close to a monitor and everything sounded really far-away. But an interesting thing happened where I could sometimes hear a kind of extra resonance taking place when I would sing away from the mic along with what Beth was doing. I love stuff like that but I always forget that's part of what makes a good tune - some kind of 'inner resonance' thing going on. Kate Bush and The Chameleons do it all the time - tingles down the spine. How do they do that?

Sometimes the sound level is just right and it's like some kind of cleansing / blowing the cobwebs off vibration. It's also nice when you can feel the bass vibrating the floorboards beneath your feet.

During the soundcheck, the sound guy said "there's a weird noise coming from somewhere..."
"That's the guitar." We said.

And "Yes, we do want the quiet bits to be quiet." We explained.

Then The Flesh Happening were on. Front-person Oliver introduced the set by entering the room wearing Hawkwind / Robert Calvert style military regalia, riding boots, and a flying hat with lighted sparklers fixed to it. Brilliant. And musically, The Flesh were actually a lot tighter and groovier than we'd seen them before. They really got the crowd moving, and Oliver got his kit off to reveal a corset and lacy knickers.

Then out into the night of frost and snow and wind. Get the kit back to Dairy then back to Cubar for a final drink of rubbish bottled cider. Yuck.

Dr. Jo was in town and she took some pictures. Will post some if and when...

Thanks to Rock and Roll Sweatbox, The Flesh Happening, Grizzly Giant, and thank you loads to everyone that came to see and hear us.

Be seeing you, The Mekano Set