PRESENTS
Borderline, London - Saturday 17th November 2001
The first of the four night stand got off to a rip-roaring start with a healthy crowd inside the Borderline by the time Inhale took to the stage. An unknown quantity to most of the audience, Inhale made many friends with their brand of Pixies/Husker Du -influenced rock 'n' roll. With songs like 'Under Construction' and 'Listen To The Sound' having the sort of hooks that embed themselves in your cranium for days on end, the potential hit single in 'Sunny Day', as well as the bristling energy of 'Slip Away' and 'Constant Enemy', it can only be a matter of time before the alternative market wakes up to what is quickly becoming one of my favourite new bands. It makes you wonder why bands as bland like Feeder and Stereophonics (who, incidentally, were playing at Wembley Arena this very night - no justice) can make sizeable impressions on the charts when other infinitely better bands can't. All we can do is give it time and exposure.
This time next year I predict that B-Movie Heroes will be headlining venues this size and bigger, as tonight's performance was an absolute tour de force. Neil and Dean took to the stage alone to perform a new number, before inviting Alex from Antiproduct on stage for a blinding cover of 'I Want You To Want Me' by (one of the best bands EVER) Cheap Trick. Dave and Scott appeared on stage for the rest of the set, mixing some great covers (Victim Of Success, Take It Easy) with fantastic renditions of 'The Drug', 'Give Me Tuesday' and 'Million Miles An Hour'. Neil is getting more comfortable with the frontman role with every show, and B-Movie Heroes just keep getting better.
What can I say about Antiproduct that I haven't already said? Surely the best band spewed out of the UK since The Wildhearts, and improving all the time. Personally I prefer the acoustic shows, but that's probably because I've seen them acoustically three times and in 'loud mode' about 35. Tonight was special, although it was slightly tempered by our curfew being earlier than we had been told originally.
After five minutes of talking to the crowd and saying Hi to old friends, AP burst into traditional set-closer '(Be My) Supergirl' followed in quick succession by 'Psychedelic Girlfriend' and 'I Live In England'. A couple of newies that I haven't got the titles for yet followed but the biggest cheer of the night was for 'Love Song For A Cigarette', rarely played and rarely bettered - a real treat for all present. The sound tonight was excellent and 'Going All The Way' just added to the smiles around the venue.
The traditional stage invasion happened during 'Bungee Jumping People Die' and, my personal favourite, 'Tell Me What You Want' was made the last song of the night. Of course we wanted more, but that's licensing laws.
I know I'm biased, but if I'd been there as a punter, it would have been one of the gigs of the year. For those of you who were there, I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
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Joe Dimmer
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