1,281 THE STAYAWAKES, Rila’s Edge, The Gears Distribution, Guildford The Star Inn, Saturday 27th May 2023

 

How 3 gigs in 3 nights can easily become 4 in 5…! Those splendid Southsea harmony-led guitar ruffians The Stayawakes announced a slew of dates around the late May Bank Holiday, in support of new single “Life Gets In Your Way”, another honeyed, Summery amphetamine pop blast with a hook you could land a whale with, to add to their canon of similarly irresistibly catchy powerpop. Unfortunately, first glance of the schedule saw them nowhere near the ‘don (well, after they’d played Lydiard’s Cheese and Chilli Fest last July, gig 1,236, lightning was never going to strike twice), so I’d resigned to miss them this time around. However, a late-in-the-day revisit of their itinerary revealed Guildford actually wasn’t as far away as I’d remembered from my only previous gig there (The Wild Swans, back in 1988, gig 93!), so plans for a sunny Saturday evening road-trip adventure were hastily put in place…!

Hit the road just after 6, then, an M4 blast and winding Berkshire roads pitching me up at the car park near the river, just in time to catch the Championship play-off penalty shoot-out in the adjacent George Abbot pub! Crossed over the bridge and round the corner to the Star Inn, finding The Stayawakes in the bar of this multi-roomed/ level old Inn, and spending a convivial hour or so catching up with these splendid gentlemen, debating the vagaries of rock’n’roll fortune, and the importance of small venues such as tonight’s. Nipped up about 9 into the small and evocatively dingy black curtain-lined upstairs back room, where The Gears Distribution were rounding off a bolshy and urgently noisy old school punk-sounding set. A young 3-piece with a drummer/vocalist, their “I Don’t Like You” featured the tense, taut drama of early Ruts, whilst closer “Take It Out On Me” had a more agit-post punk feel. Either way, they didn’t seem to disturb the guy sleeping on the stage steps (!), until he asked the band to play Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” as an encore! Wokingham five-piece main support Rila’s Edge, next up, were a different proposition, playing a robust and strong-armed type of expansive, radio-friendly pseudo indie rock, which from the outset strongly recalled The Killers. The set featured a few decent choruses, belted out with neck-bulging conviction by the young vocalist, and a nice creepy bass line underpinning the verse of their best number “Winona “ (no, not that one…), but overall it felt as if they were putting too much effort in, as if they were trying to batter us into submission with their numbers rather than play them. Mind you, I recall thinking the same about The Killers themselves during their 2002 British Sea Power support slot (gig 619) so what the fuck do I know, hey?

 The place, quiet during these 2 supports, then simply emptied as The Stayawakes set up, leaving me, 3 blokes sat at the back and the sound-guy/ doorman the only “audience” present… However, the Stayawakes are, to a man, veterans of what we euphemistically call “the toilet circuit”, where playing to the support acts and the bar staff actually constitutes a decent turnout, and are consequently well aware of their place in the pecking order of the rock’n’roll pantheon. Happily, that means they’re also inured to playing to the folks present, rather than the hordes that are absent (evidenced by vocalist/ guitarist Jimmy’s retort to my suggestion that I try and round folks up out of the pub for their set; “nah, fuck ‘em!”). And straight from the opening rolling drum and building guitar riff of opener “Wendy”, they were on it, playing for the sheer joy of playing, and delivering the type of ragged, raw, kinetic and elemental performance that encapsulates what I love about rock’n’roll, turning me into a “one man mosh” (thanks Peter!) from my house right spot. Indicating me, Jimmy announced, “this guy knows us… the rest of you don’t, but I can guarantee you won’t forget us!”

 

Jimmy gave a boost for the recently re-released debut “Dogs And Cats/ Living Together” before the hurtling, descending hook of that album’s “Inevitable Truth”; then guitarist/ vocalist Andrew relayed a message from the Brock Lesnar action figure sat on the monitor, “I’m here to kick your butt!”, before a shining rendition of newie “Life Gets In Your Way”. Then a simply awesome “Lovestruck” was again my overall set highlight, the huge swaggering and strafing hook driving the number along. The subsequent Pixies/ Weezerish swayalong of “Stepping Over Cracks” was actually a welcome respite for me from the riff-fuelled powerpop bullets, enabling me to take a much-needed breather! Finally, before closer “Little Explorer”, the boys persuaded the 3 guys at the back to come to the front, then this metronomic number saw Jimmy, bassist Peter and guitarist/ vocalist Andrew abandon the stage and riff furiously away in the faces of the 4 of us, myself included! A cracking set, once again, from this special rabble, and one I won’t forget in a hurry… A quick chat with the boys and a fellow veteran punter (who compared them to The Buzzcocks, to Jimmy’s delight), then I hit the road for a winding drive back, home at 20 to 1, after another splendid Stayawakes adventure!