THE FITS / THE LURKERS / 16 GUNS at the 12 Bar Club
THE FITS / THE LURKERS / 16 GUNS Friday 5th September 2014, 12 Bar Club, London
I’d never seen the Fits before tonights gig. I think they’d moved on to other projects by the time I was really going to gigs on a routine basis. So I was really looking forward to seeing a band that made such rapid musical progress over their short career in the 80’s from quite basic but catchy punk to fully thought through and accomplished tracks like Peace and Quiet.
First up though were 16 Guns with Loric from Rage DC on guitar duties tonight. He slotted in just fine and the band know how to get people having a good time. They’ve got a fine set of proper no nonsense punk songs which’ll keep any audience happy. Marie from Lost Cherrees also got up on stage to do a duet with singer Tom. We’re not talking about a Jason and Kylie ballad here but a version of that Motorhead / Girlschool classic ‘Please Don’t Touch’. Puts a smile on a lot of faces in the audience.
The Lurkers are one of those bands whose name has been around forever but I don’t know much about. I can’t explain why but I’ve never been that interested in finding out more save for having picked up a couple of OK albums along the way. Tonight though is a different matter, they played a wealth of catchy, solid punk rock songs that sounded crisp and punchy. Coupled with a great deal of good natured and very funny banter they provided excellent entertainment, taking the mickey out of their advancing years and in some cases their far from athletic builds. I think they converted me so I’ll be off to listen to some more of their back catalogue. It’s only taken me 30 years.
No such issues with the Fits. I think I own all of their releases and I’m very familiar with classics such as Tears Of A Nation and the aforementioned Peace and Quiet. Some of the best songs from that era and they more than stand the test of time. It’s so good tonight to see original singer Mick giving them his all live. He’s a natural frontman, climbing up into the rafters of the 12 bar club to sing to the crowd below when managing to move about on the 12 Bars tiny stage is more than enough of a feat in itself. The Fits remain a quality outfit, well worth seeing. All in all a top night all round.
Watch The Fits play Peace and Quiet live at the 12 Bar Club
Watch the Lurkers play Pills live at the 12 Bar Club
The Fits
The Fits making full use of the 12 Bar Club
The Lurkers
The Lurkers at the 12 Bar Club
Tom from 16 Guns with Marie from Lost Cherrees