Tonight, there is a distinct Christmas party atmosphere fueled by the feel-good, uplifting tunes laid down by the punk cover supergroup ‘Me First and The Gimme Gimmes’ at Rock City, a 2,000-capacity venue in Nottingham’s City Centre and winner of Kerrang! magazine's 'Venue of the Year' for ten consecutive years.
Headliners ‘The Gimmes’ are exclusively a covers band performing alternative takes on familiar songs from the past 70 years, essentially rendering them punk songs. They formed in San Francisco in 1995 and comprise members from Swingin' Utters, Ramones, and Lagwagon, all taking light-hearted departures away from their principal roles to keep the winning formula underpinning this popular project alive.
Kicking off the night was The Black Tones, founded by twins Eva and Cedric Walker. This Seattle-based rock ‘n’ roll band has grown from humble beginnings in their grandma’s basement to receiving recognition from Guitar World, Afropunk, and Under The Radar. Eva has a strong, bluesy singing voice with good tonal range and strong vibrato. Their music is blues-laden with uncomplicated tunes and elements of psychedelic rock with Hendrix-sounding guitars. Also, at times, I dare say, their music also encompasses the racing and mesmerizing guitar sounds heard in earlier Siouxsie and The Banshees work like "The Staircase (Mystery)," especially in "Welcome Mr Pink." Eva commanded the stage with elegance, brandishing her white Stratocaster and smiling all the way.
Preparing the way for the headliners came The Briefs, a punk rock band from Seattle that formed in 2000. Gloriously presenting the look and feel of the 70’s punk movement, the lead singer resembled a young Captain Sensible from The Damned. Their sound was gloriously drenched in all-so-familiar punk rock style chords, with elements of "New Rose" by The Damned bobbing around in the setlist, especially the percussion. There were also some classic Buzzcocks styles in the mix, a delight for young and old punks alike, but a special nostalgic warmth felt by those of a certain age. They're certainly a belter of a band and a difficult act to upstage.
The time had come, and The Gimmes incited the raising of the roof with their 70’s style punk rock. Simultaneously mocking and celebrating timeless tunes with a humorous bent, spicing up otherwise lame, cheesy pop classics and rendering them, in most cases, more enjoyable with a rapid-fire delivery for those requiring a harder edge to their music. Presenting these songs in this fashion is enough to persuade old-school punk connoisseurs to finally make peace with their musical prejudices and accept that they actually liked these classics in their original form all along. On the other hand, the younger modern pop-punk advocates are likely hearing a fresh song with aggressive melodic power chords, but without the tedium of enduring the original. Indeed, The Gimmes listened so they don’t have to. The concept could never have failed, and a high-spirited crowd of Christmas revelers was notably gratified.
The Gimmes prowess in the refurbishment of pop standards is considerable, and while the concept is not unique, these guys are the darlings of the cover band circuit. Some songs fit snugly into a turbocharged environment, while others, emanating from softer, tamer genres, experience a quantum leap, with all soul and sentiment being stripped as it gets thrust through the punk mill. This can be exemplified in their uplifted version of the vomit-inducing and vapid "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". which they transformed it into a slightly ill-fitting but nevertheless ultimately more palatable listening experience. One example of a good fit is The Beatles - "All My Loving," while some others are unceremoniously presented as a parody of the original—where a change in tempo leaves the impact of the original message behind.
This evening, the band casually entered the stage, and, as the Latin-tinged party intro music faded, it was pierced with a short blast of guitar feedback, and they were off! Straight into "Feliz Navidad," a popular modern-day Latin pop Christmas standard, just to remind the crowd—‘tis the season! Lead singer Sean "Spike" Slawson strolled over to his tinseled mic stand, just in time to deliver the vocals. The whole band looked resplendent in their white glittery attire, smart and besuited and, complementing the magnificent stage set, decked in Christmas regalia with pink Christmas trees, a large nutcracker soldier, and a glittery backdrop curtain.
After delivering another 17 songs, including fan favorites "Jolene," "Over the Rainbow," and "I Will Survive," they returned for an encore including two more Christmas songs: "Santa Baby" and the very popular "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday," which was practically indistinguishable from the original, not so punked up but already oozing glam rock merit in its original form. The crowd was smiling their upturned Christmas heads off, arms waving and visibly in chorus.
So, no actual tribute paid to the artists, more of a, “I’ll take this, thank you—there, that’s better, and it’s funny!” , and to reflect on my idle musings, a cover of the song "What Have They Done To My Song Ma" by Melanie Safka, performed in their own formidable style, would be a perfect addition to their set.
