Bash and Pop - Music Hall, Ramsgate, 30/6/2017
by Dastardly
published: 16 / 9 / 2017
intro
Dastardly takes cover as Replacements' bassist Tommy Stinson's band Bash and Pop storm the Music Hall in Ramsgate.
Songs. Crazy little things. What is it that’s going on in there...? Three minutes or so of some bottled headrush mayhem... and invisible to boot. Whatever they are Tommy Stinson and his crew have reeled in more than a few nuggets on new album ‘Anything Could Happen’ and right now I’m standing about three metres in front of them in Ramsgate as they rip through my ears, brain and anything else in the way with album highlight ‘On the Rocks’. The song doesn’t start with any great fanfare, just a pretty standard motif but by the time they get to the bridge it’s starting to cook and spit and then, holy moly, here’s the chorus and I’m off somewhere in another dimension wailing along with any words I can pick it out.. "It’s so sweeeeeet.. I love getting bitter" or something. This is heady stuff. I know rock n’ roll’s been round and round the block more times than, well, a professional block circling champion but when it chucks up something new and this good it’s obviously not done yet. Unsurprisingly the gig’s not going to continue at quite this altitude - that would be medically unsafe, but it never dips too far with Tommy attacking the mic like a 'Nam veteran marine. And this is a crack squad he's leading, no mistake...Selvidge, Sirois and Perkins - remember this is war, first names don't matter - are like different parts of the same body and equally just as happy to dissolve a song into a comedy bad ending when it suits them. "What does everyone do in Ramsgate?" Sgt. Stinson asks.., "Does everyone have a boat..?' (see I told you he was a marine) "I want a boat...I want to just get in it and point it towards the ocean..." OK but not just yet - you haven’t played other album highlights like ‘Never Wanted to Know’ or ‘Bad News’ yet. Thankfully he does, the latter even out facing The Faces. We even get some new unrecorded songs as well. Tonight Tommy reveals a big heart pumping underneath the Keith Richards/Sid Vicious pouts and sneers. Sure, this is loud, brash pop n' roll but it's also soul music baby... it’s the stuff that keeps you and me alive. Soul music and a healthy dash of country I should add - in the way that country music seems to be just below the surface of so much great American music...like when Kurt used to role his mouth a little and sound like some pissed off farmer. Whatever, tonight Tommy and band have shaken a tiny venue down by the seaside and ripped it loose from it's moorings. Tomorrow they're supporting Green Day at Hyde Park and you can bet Billie Joe will be watching from the safety of the dug out stage left. Got to learn from the best.
Also at Music Hall, Ramsgate
Band Links:-
http://www.tommystinson.com/https://en-gb.facebook.com/TommyStinson/
https://twitter.com/tommy_stinson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Stinson
https://en-gb.facebook.com/BashAndPop/
http://thereplacementsofficial.com/pages/home
most viewed articles
current edition
The Church - Interview with Steve KilbeySimon Heavisides - Destiny Stopped Screaming: The Life and Times of Adrian Borland
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.
Repomen - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Vetchinsky Settings - Interview
Jack Roscoe - Interview
Near Jazz Experience - Interview
Secret Shine - Interview
Liam Gallagher and John Squire - Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 16/3/2024
Sami Sumner - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPMichael Lindsay Hogg - Interview
Pere Ubu - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
Soho Dolls - Interview
Big Black - Profile
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Echo And The Bunnymen - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Barrie Barlow - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Lewis 'Burner' Pugh - Bullets for BreadKula Shaker - Natural Magick
Ian Hunter - Defiance Part 2: Fiction
Smalltown Tigers - Crush On You
David Cross Band - Ice Blue Silver Sky
Inutili - A Love Supreme
Hillbilly Moon Explosion - Back in Time
Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
Ty Segall - Three Bells
My Life Story - Loving You is Killing Me
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart