There’s plenty of action afoot on the Girlschool front. After their first Oz tour last year, to rave reviews, the world’s longest running female band have commenced a comprehensive UK tour and will look to record a new album.
The Camden Underworld (thankfully the management have finally referred the notorious toilets) is the perfect venue for Girlschools lean &mean rock n roll. C’mon Let’s Go sets out the stall, from the urgent Denise Dufort drum tattoo to the final crashing chords. The patronage of Lemmy was helpful to the band, and to their sound, sharing some DNA with Motorhead, but with a glam/punk twist and way sweeter vocals. Those early tours must of been a hoot!
Much of the set is pulled from the first two essential albums, and it still sounds vibrant and punchy, with Jackie Chambers shining on Future Flash, a guitarfest, and the classy harmonies on Watch your Step leavening the mix. Kim McAuliffe raises a laugh when she mentioned the need for glasses to read the setlist (some of us can relate to that!) and then snarled through Hit&Run and Kick It Down, the years melting away. Take It Like A Band and Guilty As Sin, from the most recent eponymous album dovetail in seamlessly with the older material.
Race with The Devil, with it’s instantly recognisable riff pops up before the recently returned Tracey Lamb (back for her third stint) bludgeons her new bass on Bomber and the amphetamine rush of Emergency. A sharp take on Screaming Blue Murder, and old chestnut Tush, and it’s all over, the band starting the year as they plan to carry on. Cheers you lot!
