Me and the Mrs try and ditch the kids a couple of times a year and head out to a gig.
A couple of months ago we attempted to get Oasis tickets and after about 4 hours of waiting in the online queue, I was presented with the opportunity to buy 2 tickets for a little over £700 which I very quickly decided was not worth it. I'm sure it would have been a great atmosphere at a sold out Wembley but £700 is a holiday not a night out!
To offset that disappointment, I immediately started looking for alternatives and brought 2 tickets for Warmduscher at the Papillon for the princely sum of £25 a ticket.
I've seen them before at a festival and really enjoyed their sound and vibe. They're also really good live!
No they're not German, despite the name, but a London based band with an American frontman. Warmduscher in German translate to 'warm shower' which is the equivalent of calling someone 'a wimp' or if you wanted to go a little stronger 'a pussy'.
Here's me wearing a Warmduscher T-shirt at the gig last Thursday.
The venue itself is pretty cool and the first time that I've been to it. The Papillon is a converted church across 2 stories which means that you can watch the acts from ground or mezzanine level.
The Mrs was very keen to get as close to the front as possible which is what we've done for previous performers who are a little more sedate. She's not big into music and didn't like me (mis)spend her youth at various gigs and festivals but fortunately she took my advice (there's a first time for everything) to not go front and middle for this particular band as things were likely to get a bit wild and indeed wild they got ....
If you like music which is loud, unique, varied and has a genuine edge to it while simultaneously not taking itself too seriously then you're going to enjoy Warmduscher.
They played several tracks that got the young men at the front smashing into each other but many more which are just damn right funky and great to get dancing to which is what we and most of the crowd did for an hour and a half.
Here, in my opinion, are Warmduscher's best 3 tunes of the evening.
Wild Flowers has always been a favourite of mine.
If I've had 'one of those days' at work where I just feel like telling everyone to go fuck themselves then there's a good chance that I'll play this tune on the drive back home. Something to help release all of the pent up anger before I actually reach the family!
The opening line of
Fuck all these deadlines, rules and regulations
Will resonate with anyone who works in a large organisation plus the track has got a great beat and baseline. Next time you've had a shit day at the office I highly recommend heading straight to the hotspot!
Quite a few of Warmduscher's tracks have lyrics that refer to sex, drugs and subculture in general. I personally like a bit of debauchery within my art but perhaps you'd be better off not playing their albums in front of your children.
So we pulled up fast she jumped in quick
Loaded up a pipe and they both took a hit, yeah
The band and in particular lead singer Clams Baker Jr. certainly look like they enjoy the rock and roll lifestyle. He had about half a bottle of tequila and a couple of beers himself during the performance.
The gig at the Papillon was only the 3rd night of their 22 show tour across Europe. 22 shows, across 7 countries taking in 11 bottles of tequila (and the rest) in 35 days. I'd be finished after the first week!
The band cross seamlessly across a wide variety of genres from disco to techno to punk and on some occasions just a mad mash up of several of them.
In that sense, Eight-Minute Machines is probably one of the less eclectic tracks based primarily around scuzzy guitar and a catchy beat. One of those tracks that will get people moving no mater what.
I believe the very last lyrics
1312 ladies and gentleman
refers to the acronym ACAB - All cops are bastards.
The atmosphere at the gig was helped by the fact that it was Halloween. There were some people dressed-up for the occasion (or at least I assume that's why the woman in front of me looked like a cow) and others who had clearly done some pre-gaming while many more would have been off to parties post-show.
We had a couple of drinks in a sports bar just around the corner before the gig.
It might seem unfair to have put my wife through an evening of my music and sport but I had spent most of the day prior to that walking around Ikea and shopping so I figure I'd earned my evening out.
All images are my own
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