A
bit of an adventure, this one, and a memorable one for a number of reasons, sadly
not all of them good… But here goes…
I’d
picked up on Southsea band The Stayawakes last year thanks to Facebook’s “New
Music For Old Punks” page, ordering their 2021 sophomore CD “Pop Dreamz” from
bandcamp and discovering a clutch of irresistibly melodic powerpop numbers
featuring huge hooks you could easily land the average whale shark with,
underpinned by loud, crunchy guitars and the type of honeyed, 3-part harmonies
that, even approaching 57 years young, still make my knees buckle with delight.
A definite and timeless lineage to this sound for me, stretching through the
likes of Swiss Family Orbison, The Hormones and even Gigolo Aunts, Velvet Crush
and Teenage Fanclub, and always the type of music I can never have too many
bands playing for me! So, a Stayawakes gig was definitely on the agenda from
that point on, their lack of profile outside their native South Coast (less
than 1,000 likes on facebook! The fuck’s that about? They’re brilliant!) unfortunately
seeming to preclude any… until this one, a support slot on a Friday night in a
tiny Arts Centre in a South Coast town I’d never muddied with my presence
before! So, the adventure starts…
Logan
was up for it too, so we hit the road just before 5 with warnings of M4 crashes
forcing us to avoid it altogether and take a cross-country route to the A34.
Notwithstanding that, the rest of the journey was stupidly easy for a Friday
evening, and we parked up in this tiny Arts Centre car park about an hour
before doors! Took a wander into town to pass the time before heading back into
the light and airy dance studio venue’s bar, to be hit with a proverbial
sledgehammer… I’d idly logged onto facebook only to be informed about the
sudden passing of Boston rock musician friend Michael Gill; utterly stunned by
this news, I however soon realised I’d need to park my sorrow and get my head
back in the game for the gig, if for no other reason because that would be what
Michael, with his innate passion for rock, would want from me…
Taking
a moment, I then popped down the front with Logan and plopped down on a couple
of small metal stools (which, I was informed by the soundguy afterwards, were
actually tiny tables; surprised they held my weight!) for first band Everyone
Lies. After a couple of 100mph ramalama punk openers, they settled down to some
quite passable and more melodic if generic pop punk. An early “Smile Inside My
Head” featured an insistent hook underneath all the power chords, “90’s Girl”
was apparently about guitarist Adam’s girlfriend (“to be fair, I’m punching…!”
he was happy to admit) and featured some nice Camden lyrical references which
Camden fan Logan appreciated, then the main vocalist tried and managed to get
this small but perfectly formed crowd to sing along the hook to breakneck penultimate
number “Get Up”. Overall a decent start, with a fair level of tuneage and
musicianship buried underneath those power chords…
Logan
and I had discussed band images beforehand, noting that all photos I’d seen of
The Stayawakes featured them all suited up like Elvis Costello and the
Attractions, or even (more relevantly for me) The Gravel Pit, and I was hoping
they were planning that attire tonight. No such luck (and probably a good thing
too, as this, despite the small turnout, was a hot one, particularly on the tall,
window-backed stage), but they came onstage sporting matching pastel pink
spotted shirts, so I’ll take that! Powering into the drum-roll and power
riffery opening of the rampant “Wendi”, the sound was however somewhat
haphazard and discordant initially, despite the band powering through in an
impressively kinetic, high-kicking manner. However, by 3rd number,
the American Hi-Fi-isms and snaking, almost Thin Lizzy like guitar breaks of a
stupendously catchy “Please Steve Just Drive”, they were flying… and flying
high!
This
set was all I’d hoped from The Stayawakes, and more; the type of set the likes
of Midway Still, Seafood, even the Hi-Fi themselves specialised in delivering…
all-action, full of energy, effervescence and wild-eyed, high-kicking and
jumping onstage movement, often raggedy arsed as all hell and not entirely
bereft of the occasional bum note, but when it’s this thrilling, this
viscerally exciting, who cares? It also didn’t escape my notice that this was
also the kind of pure rock’n’roll set we saw Michael’s band The Damn Personals
deliver on 3 occasions back in the day, so the only thing for me to do was to rock
out as much as my battered body and buggered knees would allow. “Oh Telephone”
was a pounding, fist-pumping hook-driven anthem; the slower “Stepping Over
Cracks” was the outlier amongst the ball-crunching powerpop deluge, its’ menacing
march and falsetto vocal outro from bassist Jimmy recalling Pixies’ “Where Is
My Mind?” (a point also not lost on the soundguy, who played said track following
their set!); and “Lovestruck” was just spellbindingly brilliant, its’ sheer
joyful riffery and multiple singalong hooks winning for me not only set
highlight but one of the best “live” numbers I’ve seen this year, period! An
all-too-short half hour ended with Jimmy and main vocalist Andrew riffing
furiously and rocking out on the dancefloor next to me to closer “Little
Explorer”, leaving this old punker breathless yet exhilarated. Just wonderful
stuff, the essence of rock’n’roll for me. You can keep your big stages, big
productions and big “shows”, this is what does it for me!
Took
a breath outside afterwards as the boys unpacked and loaded up, then had an
extensive chat with the band, finding a group of rock fans and kindred spirits,
the likes of Gigolo Aunts, The Hi-Fi (The Stayawakes having been compared to
both, apparently!) and even The Posies and Raze*Rebuild cropping up in
conversation (as well as Logan’s Bowling For Soup shenanigans!). Headliners
Dead Authors’ set provided a musical backdrop through the backstage door – I
didn’t hear any of the supposed “angsty pop-punk/ folk-rock”, it all sounded a
bit proggier to me, but I’m happy to admit I wasn’t paying much attention! Eventually
we headed off about 10ish, following photos and warm handshakes with the band,
for an equally eventful journey home – again part-cross country following M27
closures and M4 late-night delays, and involving 2 wrong turns and an owl
sitting in the middle of the road! Home just before midnight, kebabs in tow. An
amazing gig, immersing myself again in the life-affirming joy of rock’n’roll.
Tonight was a great gig night. Tonight was for Michael.
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