Fuzzbox moves up to The Golden Fleece for its latest event but that won’t stop us from finding it
London band Deadcuts were supposed to start the show but pulled out at the last minute, perhaps confused by the promoters being called I’m Not From London. The regular Fuzzbox DJ was also missing, as evidenced by an unenjoyably eclectic mix of pre-gig music which veered from ‘60s folk to modern R ‘n’ B with nary a warning.
First up are Nottingham trio Dim Bulbs, all ‘80s US underground, somewhere between Sonic Youth and The Melvins - just the kind of music that Kurt Cobain filtered through the Pixies’ loudQUIETloud thing to make Nirvana the biggest band on the planet. It’s unlikely that an instrumental three-piece are going to become the biggest band on the planet, despite the incredible sound they produce. Then, for the last few songs they bring out a frontman - a guy who looks like the illegitimate love child of Mark E Smith and who starts asking who’s wearing lederhosen. No-one in the pub is. It does give the band a focal point but takes away the band's unique selling point - there really aren't many instrumental bands around in this genre these days.
Fuzzbox favourites Diablo Furs open up with Taking It Up, which sounds like The Who, while Heart In Motion is the missing song from the soundtrack of a ‘80s John Hughes film. They introduce Don’t Hold Me Back as a country song (Narrator: It isn’t) All in all, it's another great performance from Diablo Furs, full of energy and fun. Their final song brings things full circle, even cribbing the lyrics "you can’t turn off my love like you can’t turn off the sun" from So Sad About Us by The Who. The audience won't let them finish there though and the band encore with Sweet Janine, their first single.
Fuzzbox will be back soon
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