Some rock’n’roll gigs are built upon the lead singer’s ego, others on the lunacy of the band’s drummer. The inaugural Fuzz Club London Weekender was unashamedly built upon guitars and effects pedals. Wailing feedback, screaming guitars and thunderous drumming bound together with spaced-out jamming and psychedelic projections were very much the order of the two days: a crowd spanning two or three generations of space cadets and acid-heads of varying beard-lengths, got their rocks off to a collection of bands from around the world who may have had one foot in the past but were very much taking things to pastures new.
Setting up stall at the London Fields Brewery, with its two smallish venues and bars doling out craft beers, there was no danger of big business muscling-in, or of the over-priced rancid burgers that have become part of the landscape of British festivals, which suited everyone. Musically things may have taken their lead from psychedelia but they weren’t all reminiscent of London 1967. The first night of the proceedings had local duo KVB blasting the audience with distorted shoegaze-guitars and hypnotic drum-machine grooves, the Terminal Cheesecake-esque Telescopes and the motorik-flavoured Camera just for starters.
The Myrrors in particular laid down some mellow ambient drone soundscapes
The Telescopes particularly lit the night up with a five-guitar assault and as many band members thrashing around in the lively audience as on the stage. They may have looked somewhat like Pavement with Dave Grohl on drums, but the band laid down sheets of fried guitar and a thumping beat that had plenty up on their feet and losing themselves in the groove. The spectacular highlight of Friday evening, however, was Portuguese space-cases 10.000 Russos. Wave after wave of psychedelic drone music was unleashed which had their guitarist “playing” his effects boxes as much as his guitar, while the deep groove drove some in the crowd into a berserker-like frenzy which culminated in cymbals, tambourines and other percussion instruments being passed around and beaten into submission to spectacular takes on the likes of “Karl Burns” and “Stakhanovets” from their self-titled masterpiece from earlier this year. Eventually the band members were pulled from the stage amid much hugging and big smiles – and screaming ear drums. It was a fine end to a wild evening.
The bands proved to be just as eclectic on Saturday with the Spacemen 3-ish Orange Revival, the magnificent Lola Colt and the oceanic Myrrors leading the way. The Myrrors in particular laid down some mellow ambient drone soundscapes that offered an opportunity to chill out among the apocalyptic brain-frying roar. There was again plenty of dancing to be done though, and the Cult of Dom Keller were in the right place at the right time. Melodic fuzz, heavily distorted vocals and an insistent groove again had a good chunk of the crowd bopping along throughout their set. It was Radar Men from the Moon, however, that brought things to a final ending with a hot and sweaty show of loud and driving acid rock with Joy Division-like tinges. It again had some in the crowd dancing with wild abandon and the condensation was pouring down the walls of the venue when the house lights came up.
Disappointingly, the much-anticipated Sonic Jesus had to pull their appearance from the Fuzz Club Weekender due to injury. But on the strength of the audience reaction to their fellow sonic adventurers, they can be sure of a warm reception when they do turn up in the UK.
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