 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Gen Xellent GEN X have everything going for them — even signs of early adulation. Witness the number of young women who "fainted" and were carried backstage on Sunday night. I say fainted in quotes, because most of them seemed to recover at surprising speed to watch the rest of the show from the comfort and space of the backstage area. Almost like the old days. . . So with all these signs of outward popularity, why am I so reticent to follow example and throw caution to the winds, along with every superlative I can think of? Maybe it's because I'm more aware of their image than their music, and maybe that's because the publicity has worked more magic on me than the music. They undoubtedly performed well; Billy Idol has the front, the aggression, the Hollywood rebel looks. The band stand up well to this leading light and are more than competent in their playing. From the opening song, 'From The Heart', they had their audience. There was never any doubt they would. They'd appeared the previous night at the Nashville, under the name of Wild Youth — their current single — as a warm up, so were ready to attack the Roundhouse crowd with a heated, frantic performance. And they were good, very good, as they built up all the way through the set. In fact, the only way I could see to improve their show would be to cut a lot of the between - numbers chat and just get on with it. Obviously their singles got the biggest reception, 'Your Generation' getting a marginally better rating than 'Wild Youth'.but 'Promises Promises' being one of the better songs for me. Perhaps when they have an album out and their songs are more easily recognisable, their show will have even more impact. For the moment, they got good reactions for 'Listen', 'Shakin' All Over' and 'Tryin' For Kicks'. The presentation was certainly excellent — as I said, shades of the old days. Towards the end, during the encore 'Youth Youth Youth', Billy swung his mike round, it caught the neck of Derwood 's guitar, pulling it down. Derwood went on to smash the rest of the guitar (cutting his hand and streaming blood) as Mark Laff demolished his drum kit. I"!t was just like being in the Who," said an enthusiastic Billy afterwards. I'd sooner watch Gen X than The Who anyday. Supporting cast was The Valves — a Scottish rock band with no aspiration to new wave, who performed a fair, if not rivetting set — The Lurkers and The Saints. The Lurkers (who had Gen X support them the night before) improve week by week and their following grows alongside. Like Gen X, their singles tended to go down better than the other material — 'Shadow', 'Freak Show' are instant impact instigators to the pogoists down the front - but 'Love Story' is catching up fast. The test was, would Gen X fans give them a hard time? They didn't, they went down well to earn a deserved encore. The Saints arrived onstage to a flying spray of spit (I believe the stage was like an ice rink by the end). "I've heard of free drinks," said singer Chris Bailey, "'but this is ridiculous." The Saints are including a lot of new songs in their set (galloped through as always at exhilarating speed), and opened with 'Do The Robot'. They've worked long enough in this country for everyone to identify with their numbers. My own favourites are still 'River Deep Mountain High' — despite the criticism it's had from the Press — 'Perfect Day', 'Stranded' and 'Lipstick On Your Collar'. Of the new stuff, 'Nights In Venice' is excellent. In fact, the show was one of the best I've seen this year and certainly the best at the Roundhouse. ROSALIND RUSSELL - (Record Mirror, December 10, 1977) |
 |
 |