The Next Big Thing

Well it was an unmitigated triumph. I'm talking about The Boonaraaas!!! show at the DWC on Friday here of course. The Boston Arms annexe was reverberating to these German lassies now sound. Where then meets the present in a cataclysmic prime punk rock rush of blood. It was three years plus since plus since the Lolitabar incident. Maybe they'd changed or something? It was all very nerve-racking but within 10 seconds, all my suspicions were utterly founded. This is a helluva band and as glorious a ruckus as you're likely to collide with anyplace. Tufnell Park presumably didn't know what had hit it.

First up was King Salami and The Cumberland 3. Pret-ty good as Larry David might say but they played too long to my mind. They were holding up the main event. However it reminded me a wee bit of Gaylord Fields with The A-Bones so that's not exactly chopped liver. Allegedly "the hit" of the Funtastic DracFest recently, they're obviously not without merit. It's just that we were champing at the bit here.

And then blammo, we're off to that hip-shakin' wonderland. The German girls cut straight to the chase and deliver a rapid fire salvo of primo rock'n'roll. By the time they got to their version of The Romantics "What I Like About You", it was clear that we were all going down. The set featured a selection of songs from their two fine albums and some other songs that are presumably new. Utterly timeless and charming in equal measure, their obvious joy at being in London was contagious. Christina's grasp of the big beat is substantial and Trich's bass rumble powered the interplay. C would have been a perfect drummer for The Ramones because she never missed a beat unlike the clockwork monkey they ended up with. Trich's vocal is the archetypal girl group warble marinated in that exotic accent to give it extra thrust. As Tine and Laura add backing vocals and thrash their guitars, there are strange harmonic licks present. All grist to the powerhouse of a mill that they're packing. The show was over in what seemed like an instant. A heartbeat even. One quick return for a breakneck version of "Shook Out Of Shape" and it's over. The disco comes back on and the spell is broken. But by christ, the audience got a punk rock clip round the noggin in no uncertain terms.

What could follow that? Well nothing really. The Len Price 3 made an amiable record but live it's somewhat uninspired. Not bad but more like (shrugs shoulders). Graeme Day and The Gaolers were on the other hand totally uninspired, with the ghost of Paul Weller bathing in the Medway casting a shadow over the sound. Clearly they have a following but for the life of me, I can't understand why. Some of it was unfathomably dull but our whistle had been whetted so each to their own.

In between the LP3 and GD, Boonaraaaaction decamped next door into The Boston Arms karaoke night. Fired up from the stellar performance, Christina and Tine belted out a rousing version of "Do Anything You Wanna Do". It was a perfect end to the evening to shore us up for the prospect of the nightbus back to Chiswick. A whole 'nother adventure again.

In a perfect world, "I Want A Boonaraaa for Christmas" would be a big hit this coming festive season although which one would be quite a quandry. The Boonaraaas!!! are the perfect prescription for these jaded times and never miss any chance you get to see them.

As I type this I guess they're driving back to Germany but hopefully the fuse has been lit and the bush telegraph will elicit a return bout very soon. Meanwhile there's the prospect of Paris in April...