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The Thanes / The No-Things - Franklin Rock and Roll Club

  • Published in Live

It's been a good few months since the outstanding Franklin Fest (if you missed it, shame on you!), and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new season than by opening with two local bands. Hot (relative) new-comers The No-Things, and legendary garage and beat merchants The Thanes. How lucky are we?

It's a packed shack tonight as The No-Things take to the floor. The No-Things are no stranger to The Franklin or Muso's Guide. They’ve played here a few times before, so this is really home turf for them. We have reviewed them on several occasions over the past year or so, and there are no surprises in store tonight, expect a brand new song. The band are on form, and sound as good as ever; entertaining, loud, fun, and more than capable of writing a good tune ('Diamond Ring' is still in my head two days later). They are also great crowd pleasers, and frontman Laurent Mombel - shaking his maracas don't you know - indulges the young and exuberant stag party that are in attendance tonight, dancing their socks off down the front.

In between times we are treated as per usual to some sexy sixties sounds from resident DJ, Tony Two-Eyes, and then without further ado…

Masters of the universe. That was the thought that popped into my head as The Thanes took to the stage. It's always a real treat to hear them play, and they do so with real wholeheartedness. Their self-penned numbers are just as good as the covers. The beautiful 'Darker Nights', 'In God I Trust', and the sublime 2013 single ‘She’s Coming Back To Me’, and they do this so effortlessly. They are on top form as always.

On the covers front, they take us on a journey through some of the different genres of ‘60s music. The shack goes crazy for The Guess Who’s ‘It’s My Pride’, Them’s 'Gloria', some Nederbeat with Q65's gem 'Nightmares' and freakbeat with The Answers 'It's Just A Fear'. They end with the spine-tingling 13th Floor Elevators favourite 'You're Gonna Miss Me' (Helsing’s screaming on a par with Erikson) this being their third(?) encore. A fitting end to a brilliant night*        

The No-Things have a new LP out soon on Soundflat Records (I’ve had a sneaky listen, and it’s very good). The Thanes will be playing at the Berlin Beat Explosion this Saturday, 10th September. The Next Franklin Rock ‘N’ Roll club on Saturday 24th September sees the return of Garage Punk Blues peddlers The Bonnevilles supported by Edinburgh’s best-est punk/psychobilly/rock 'n' roll/rockabilly trio, The Phlegm. Only £5.00 on the door, and cheapo drinks served by the lovely Brenda - you’d be an absolute fool to miss it. 

*apologies, I was too busy dancing to give a more indepth review :) 

With love and thanks to Kerry Robinson for the use of the photos. 

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Vantastival 2016 - Day 2

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The camping fields are noticeably more full this morning and Vantastival attracts a lot of local day visitors so Saturday is shaping up to be a good one. The sun continues to favour us with its presence and there is a roaring trade in breakfast rolls. The Volkswagen main stage kicks off in hard rocking style with Accidents In The Workplace. Their hypnotic lead singer is like a Gothic Stevie Nicks with bright red hair, a florescent crucifix, and shimmering butterfly wings handing from her outstretched arms. And we finally catch up with Nix Moon for an interview. They are as much fun off-stage as they are on it.

Dublin hip hop fusion group Just Mikey bring a slick show with a distinctively Dublin flavour (flava?). Their sound is a mash up of Donaghmede troubadour Damien Dempsey and Macklemore & Lewis. It's structured rapping with a full-band pop rock backing and roof-raising choruses, if there were a roof over the Goldenplec stage. Raising the tree canopy doesn't have the same ring to it. Next up it's Northern Ireland's' The Bonnevilles, who'll be familiar to regular readers. It's hard to resist comparing the drummer and guitarist /vocalist duo to The Black Keys or The White Stripes but my brain is no longer functioning sufficiently to reach beyond such obviousness. But the Bonnevilles aren't some two dimensional imitators. When he's not cranking out the searing leads and crunchy power chords, singer Andrew McGibbon Jr. can emote like an old-fashioned, soulful, blues singer. They have brought their own crowd too. I lose count of the number of Bonnevilles t-shirts.

We've just been told that a burst water main in Drogheda means that the water is going to run out. There's not a cloud in the sky. There will be some parched throats come Sunday morning and the queue for the drinking water tap stretches quickly. Thankfully the anticipated water shortage doesn't occur. Fox E. And The Good Hands bring some welcome soul to the scorching afternoon as the crowd at the main stage spread out around the tent to make the most of the sunshine. Mutefish are already legends around here. Their busking sessions attract hundreds, so it's a real treat to catch a fully electrified set from them. And electrifying it is. Their set is a non-stop dance party that noticeably shakes the heaving tent. They incorporate musical instruments and styles from all round the world and amalgamate them with electronica, Celtic rock, and folk music, to astonishing effect. Their Bollywood version of the Knight Rider theme tune is a notable highlight.

This year's featured artist is Badly Drawn Boy and there's a real air of anticipation in and around the main stage as The Hour Of Bewilderbeest approaches. Damon Gough comes out for a line check then disappears as the crowd starts to build. He gets a massive reception when he re-emerges. Woolly hat in place, he plays a verse of 'What A Wonderful World' before segueing into 'Too Many Miracles' and the packed tent is enraptured. It's hard to say what makes this wee festival so good. Badly Drawn Boy is the only non-native act this year. Last year it was Goldie Lookin' Chain. The guest stars are hand-picked to appeal to the parents of young families, and so are the events around the music. People come back every year. Many of the same bands come back every year. There are nearly as many children as there are adults in attendance. The new location has been a big hit and the breadth and depth of the local talent on show is very special. Whatever it is, it'll have us coming back to see what next year's Vantastival holds.

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