A Review

Fat Black Cats

Nice n Sleazy

13th January 2018

The gig we had planned to go to was cancelled (Rhinoplast, Faiides and Wendell Borton has since been re-arranged and you can find more info here), but determined not to let that ruin our night we headed down to Sleazy’s basement to check out some random bands.

The one band that stuck out that night for the right reasons were Fat Black Cats.

From the first song/sound check, a surf rock inspired instrumental, it was clear they had the full attention of the room. The band then swapped instruments (a trick that was to be repeated throughout the set) and guitar duties were taken on by the apparent front man.

The singer wore a red and black striped top, paying visual homage to the sensational Alex Harvey but as soon as the jagged and lurching bass line of the second song kicked in his outfit took on a ‘nightmare on elm street’ quality.

They had a Cramps style post punk sound which allowed them to swap instruments freely between songs, their apparent enthusiasm propelling their performance beyond any technical shortcomings. They wouldn’t even let a broken kick pedal stop them, soldiering on until eventually someone came to the stage to help.

Their cultural references became increasingly bizarre as the frontman made a ‘Chewin the Fat’ style reference about ‘being on the nightshift’ and went on to play the Spongebob Squarepants theme on the guitar.

Their performance was visually engaging, they held the gaze of the crowd confidently as they chatted between tunes and came down into the crowd as they played there instruments during one song and the even ‘taps’ came ‘aff’.

I would be keen to see them again and as luck would have it they are set to play this Friday, find more info here.