The Jesus Lizard at The Electric Ballroom
I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time.
Currently on the train home, so I thought I’d stick this here now.
First up, The None.
Hardcore punk band from Birmingham, with excellent, two microphoned, high energy, shouty person.
Very, very good - I’ll be checking them out further.
The main attraction, however……
I first saw The Jesus Lizard at the Reading Festival in 1994, when I was 17 years old. I’ve mellowed a little in the subsequent 30 or so years. They have not. Still a beautifully caustic, raging beast of a live band. If I go to a better gig in 2025 then I’ll be very surprised (and incredibly happy).
Yow, as always, spent a chunk of the set singing while crowd surfing. Meanwhile, Dennison and W.M. Simms look like geography teachers. The musicianship is absolutely stunning, though. Add the deranged yelps, growls and bizarre charisma of David Yow to the mix, and they really are something special.