Arrived in central London early. Checked out moon under water to find it devoid of all things \m/metal\m/. So on to the gig. Got there at 7.30 to find about 20 or so kids (i.e. under 18). Thought to myself what a shame they won't get in cos the Borderline are so mean and untrusting they think the little buggers will drink themselves sick. Speaking of which the management obviously knew we were coming, so promptly forgot to stock any Newcastle brown and had a total of one pint of bitter on tap (no I am not exaggerating, they ran out of beer after pouring my one and only pint ;o(). still onto the music.

First up were Danny Frye and the Devil Dolls, or Dolly Frye, according to the Borderline posters ;o) Danny and his bassist (who's name I forget) -(that'll be Jimmy "I'm Not Gay" Harry - Joe) are bad to the bone rock n rollers from Cleveland, Ohio, they were completed onstage with Neil Philips (..and im from Birmingham) and Scott (B-movies). They climbed onstage... and blew everyone away. Fucking hell this was a set to remember. The boys rocked like Elvis being skull-fucked by Satan himself. The boys looked the part, played as tight as any group I have seen (which is all the more impressive as they only had 1 week to rehearse and this was their first ever gig!!) Highlights have to go to 'back of my hand' which is just such a fab little singalong number. It was impressive seeing the audience getting into the guys so quickly. Let's face it most of the people there had never heard of DF&DD, but they soon bought into the whole idea. For me the band of the stand!! Get the CD 'Hellbent' from your favourite record store right now :o).

Next up were B-Movie Heroes. Question number 1: Do these boys ever do a bad gig? Answer: No. From the start they were together (well, they were once Dean remembered to plug his guitar in). For a skinny bloke, Scott hits those tubskins hard as hell. But for me the highlight of the B-movies is the harmonies and melodies. They do it as well as anybody you can think of (the wildhearts, beachboys, etc). They played some new songs which rocked and I am sure will get better with every listen. above all, they seemed to be having fun. Yes fun, they aren't here for the money, drugs and loose women (but they will accept them eagerly), they wanna have a good time.

Finally up came 4ft fingers. I admit I am not the biggest skate punk fan in the world. I almost pissed meself when the lead singer of this 'mid-west skate punk' spoke - in a broad west-country accent. Still I decided to have a listen. There were a few catchy tunes, a bit of audience interaction and the essential nutters moshing down the front. But it was a case of, heard this sort of thing before. There was nothing about it to grab my earholes and shout 'bounce-bounce-bounce'. I wish them well, but they need to become a little bit more distinctive.

So well done to the FMH boys. (Awww, Dr P - you shouldn't have - shucks. Joe)

Dr. Pissjoy

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