Turbowolf / Black Moth / Wet Nuns
10 October 2012
The Garage, London
Having arrived too late for openers Throne, it was Wet Nuns that were our first entertainment of the evening (not sure I’ve ever said that before!). The band consists of just two members, Rob Graham on guitar and Alexis Gotts on drums, with vocals shared between the two. The Yorkshiremen’s opening song rode on a riff that brought Clutch to mind, with Gotts providing a gruff vocal. Falling somewhere between stoner and blues, a promising start was brought to a stuttering halt by a verbal insult to anyone present who was a fan of Overkill (see our review immediately prior to this one), who apparently they took dislike to at a summer show at the 100 Club. Presumably not “scene” enough, we took leave to the bar.Maybe I’ll check Wet Nuns out again when, like Overkill, they have maintained a career of 30 years.
 
More music from Yorkshire followed in the form of Leeds based five piece Black Moth. Unlike the band preceding them, Black Moth seem happy to embrace potential fans from all genres of rock willing to give them a listen. Their music takes in hints of stoner, doom, garage rock and grunge. Frontwoman Harriet Bevan took the stage in a leather hat Rob Halford would have been proud to own, loosely raising her arms whilst singing opener Blackbirds Fall. To her right bassist Dave Vachon appeared possessed by the rolling riffs as he lolloped around pointing his bass to the ceiling. Chicken Shit raised the pace with a staccato verse and skipping chorus. It was the big riffs that hit hardest however, with Banished and Blameless towering mid set with Bevan noting “Some of you have it, you know the words better than me.”
  
Black Moth setlist:
Blackbirds Fall / Chicken Shit / Banished but Blameless / Tree of Woe / The Articulate Dead / Spit Out Your Teeth / Honey Lung
Chris Georgiadis cool demeanour was blown as soon as he walked on stage and surveyed the packed Garage. With a grin like a kid on Christmas morning, what he saw was just deserts from a lot of hard graft on the road from Turbowolf. It’s been intriguing to watch as this is our third review of the band at this venue. The first occasion in this room saw easy access to the front of the stage as they opened for the Black Spiders, winning over the early entrants. The second saw them pack out the small upstairs room of this venue and now tonight they headline the main room and fill it.
Comically, seemingly aware of their rise in stature, they now have a stage prop, by way of a sphinx head with eyes and TW logos that changed colour. Otherwise its business as usual with a set packed with unbridled enthusiasm. Ancient Snake’s arrival quickly churned up a pit in front of stage with Georgiadis calling, “London, make some noise”. His demand for the crowd to “Go mental, touch each other” was already being met as Seven Severed Heads passed by.
  
Following The Big Cut, the band finally drew breath with Georgiadis delighted to note “I don’t even have to say who we are!”. With a new covers EP fresh out, the band’s take on Captain Caveman by Lightning Bolt followed, the first of two additions to the set from our last sighting. The other inclusion was a new song, 12 Houses, which slotted in comfortably amongst the known material and even on a first airing had the crowd singing “Wooaahh” in the appropriate places.
Whilst the amount of gigs under their belts undoubtedly has sharpened Turbowolf, they still maintain that feeling of pushing things to the edge which injects their performance with excitement. With a sound straddling genres it’s impossible to pigeon hole the Bristolians and when Georgiadis demands we “Grab yourself a partner” for Read + Write there are grins all-round the Garage.
Jefferson Airplane’s Somebody To Love brings things almost to the climax before Let’s Die wrapped up a triumphant show from Turbowolf, which concluded with a mass scrum at the merchandise stand.
 
Turbowolf setlist:
Introduction / Ancient Snake / Seven Severed Heads / The Big Cut / Captain Caveman (Lightining Bolt cover) / Bag O’Bones / A Rose For The Crows / 12 Houses / Read & Write / Things Could Be Good Again / Somebody To Love (Jefferson Airplane cover) / Let’s Die
LINKS:
http://www.myspace.com/turbowolfband
http://www.themothpit.co.uk
www.wetnuns.com
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