++GIG REVIEW++
Achtung Artrockers! Blood Red Shoes have ‘done an Iggy’ and fled to Berlin, where they’re playing a bunch of intimate club nights. Don Blandord chews the German sausage (words) and Sally Saveall brings down the Wall (pictures).
Girls stripping off to try on the band's t-shirts, a deposit charge for your beer glass and a man selling brezels. Germany is a foreign country - and in foreign countries they do gigs differently.
Blood Red Shoes followed-up their support slot with Maximo Park to make a pulsating headline appearance at Berlin’s Bang Bang Club, proving that these days, if you forget the mullet and middle of the road image, Berliners have taste and style.
"Steven offered some “vielen danks” to the uber-cool youths before adding, “I don’t know what else to say in German…but this is fun, I like you guys, I like this town…”"
Steven and Laura-Mary found themselves playing under the S-Bahn station formerly known as Marx-Engels Platz. This underground cave of a venue barely offered enough room to break a brezel let alone host a gig. So, with a hint of snow in the outside air BRS turned up the heat in East Berlin.
Opening with It’s Getting Boring, the contrast with the previous night’s big support slot with Maximo Park was obvious: sweaty little clubs become them. Having previously found it hard to even raise a smile Laura-Mary was beaming with joy at the bouncing scrum before her. Meanwhile little drummer boy Steven took on the Kennedy role and announced “ich liebe dich Berlin!”
They soon got bolder and louder. You Bring Me Down inspired Laura-Mary to step across the stage to brandish her guitar at Steven’s drum kit before resuming her default position with expressionless finesse. Steven offered some “vielen danks” to the uber-cool youths before adding, “I don’t know what else to say in German…but this is fun, I like you guys, I like this town…”
Being the only English people in the place gave photographer Sally and I royal status and we revelled in the attention…until, that is, one super-cool Mädchen asked if we were Laura-Mary’s parents. Was I smiling with pride that much?! Had Sally been too snap-happy?!
After the dark introversion of Box Of Secrets, the bouncing Berliners returned for the adrenalin rush of ADHD. Laura-Mary thrust the mic into the crush for some Teutonic audience participation while Steven looked on with loving concern at this unusual bout of spontaneity by his missus.
The drum and guitar attack continued well past midnight and left the Bang Bang Club regulars impressed by “these Englisch punks” Damn it, now even the Germans know our secret!
++ Don Blandford ++
Artrocker rating: 4
The newest sounds as heard in the Artrocker Office and our Resonance FM podcast.
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