Spit Like This
The Underworld
London, England
23 May 2007
Words by Alissa Ordabai
(SugarBuzz London)
Pixs by Moonshayde
May 23 at London Underworld proved to be another one of those perfect rock nights where a visiting classic U.S. band calls on fresh local talent to help recruit a new generation of fans. Tonight Spit Like This and Gypsy Pistoleros were supporting LA Guns.
Spit Like This turned out to be a jaw-droppingly engaging act, delivering a delicious mix of punk, goth and glam, their multi-layered rock-noire combining vaguely surrealistic Art House finesse with a banging knack for catchy rock songwriting. The band’s poise, sense of humour, and the way they manage to revamp the traditional stylistic fetishes, are all perfectly united to match the outward expression to their inner essence. In this sense Spit Like This are totally in a league of their own, dosing diverse influences in just the right measures to create one distinctive, unique whole.
Vikki Spit’s seductive look and the way she puts an erotic edge to the band’s style is what you notice first in Spit Like This, as well as the way this image resonates with the music. Singer Lord Zion sustains this band’s claim to attention on another front, working his stage moves without a trace of inhibition, doing everything he finds necessary to turn the band’s show into a cleverly constructed dramatic performance.
The standout “Obscene (But Not Heard)” was probably the best number of the set with frantic leads from vocal dynamo Zion, shaded by cool backing vox courtesy of Vikki. The guitar solo spread over a sequence of just a few chords, but still hit on an emotional core beyond the song’s simple punk harmony. This song was an almost tangible hit, vibrant, catchy and very fun to get into.
The band’s punk inclinations later turned out to be the backbone of almost all of the songs that they played that evening. “Sweet Transvestite” was another punchy highlight boasting a snappy hook, the rhythm section nailing the punk groove perfectly, with big, unremitting muscle. The bass on all of the band’s songs always stands up for itself, sounding round and contained, Vikki making sure that the notes don’t swell too much, while drummer Vile Giles guides the band with sharp, confident precision.
Song after song Spit Like This invented new ways to intrigue the audience, staying true to the trademark vigorous punk impulse at the heart of their music. The coolest thing about this band though is probably the way they know how to get rid of cliché by skilfully transforming and layering different styles, creating one seamlessly unique whole. The degree of affirmation and denial of each music genre that goes into their sound varies from song to song, and this is what keeps it genuinely exciting.
Gypsy Pistoleros, who were on next, are clearly onto something good with the self-assured way in which they manipulate glam rock and flamenco into a neat musical hybrid, ending up sounding like no-one else. Their style works wonderfully, as they dip their rumba grooves in glam, single-handedly inventing a cunningly chosen, multi-flavoured blend of styles. On the night their synthetic grooves sounded infectiously vigorous, taking rock in a new direction with a sly contradiction between glam and a genre that before now had nothing to do with rock’n’roll, but in the hands of this band gives rock a fresh lift.
By the time LA Guns hit the stage, the audience was geared up and ready. Every time this band is in town, no matter if it is the Tracii Guns’ version (as it was on the night) or Phil Lewis’, for the UK audience their tunes are always Sunset Strip reincarnate. And on that evening things happened with them just the way everyone expected. The roundabouts of their songs blasted off with condensed, resolute power, and their chops were rough and ready, as the band ripped through a set of vintage bangers, “Sex Action” and “One More Reason” probably being the brightest standouts of the set. It was good to see how their career successfully went over the generation lines, with so many people in their early teens and twenties in the crowd, and I couldn’t help but dance and raise my glass to “Over the Edge”, remembering how I heard this song for the first time at a schoolfriend’s house, who wrote “Don’t Change” in my yearbook that day. At the time I didn’t think it was possible to live your life without changing, but now I know that some people somehow manage it perfectly. Tracii Guns is one of them.