THE SURFRAJETTES + THEE HEADSHRINKERS + THE TRIDENTS – DUST, BRIGHTON 19.10.24
I’ve been waiting two years to catch The Surfrajettes live and in the flesh, having discovered their solid debut album, titled ‘Roller Fink’ which dropped back in 2022. Here is an act that stands apart from others in their field. They look the part with their 1960’s fashions, beehive hair styles, go-go boots, eyeliner and long lashes, and groovy outfits which they all wear the same. There’s a corporate identity with these ladies, whether it be their retro airline stewardess look, or art deco waitress diner look, or their Shangri-Las look. If they were around when I was a kiddie, then someone at Hanna-Barbera would have commissioned a cartoon series for them, where each week they travel across North America in their pink glam-mobile and get up to capers, and each episodes ends with them safely arriving at their next venue in order to play a live set.
You would think that this quartet are American through and through with the soft pinks and baby blues styles, but in fact only the newest member of the quartet hails from the States, Cleveland in Ohio to be precise, this being drummer Annie Lillis who also goes as Anne Lillis. The other trio all hail from Toronto, Ontario, in Canada and they are blond haired guitarist Shermy Freeman (real name Mackenzie Freeman), brunette guitarist Nicole Damoff, and auburn bassist Sarah Butler. Note the absence of “vocalist”! There isn’t one! All of their material are surf rock instrumentals and they have proudly been charming audiences since formation back in 2015.
The band’s debut 45 single ‘Party Line’ / ‘Toxic’ was released late 2018 on Hi-Tide Recordings to immediate success and they toured extensively. Their follow up single ‘Hale’iwa Hustle’ / ‘Banzai Pipeline’ dropped in 2020 and they spent the rest of the year and most of 2021 writing and recording their debut LP ‘Roller Fink’ which dropped on 22nd April 2022 from Hi-Tide Recordings / Virgin Music. They saw out the rest of 2022 with a trio of singles: ‘El Condor Pasa’, ‘Banshee Bop’ and ‘Marshmallow March’ / ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. Their second album, ‘Easy As Pie’ also came out via Hi-Tide Recordings and dropped this month on 4th October. Thankfully The Surfrajettes decided to fly over the ocean to perform a quartet of gigs, this side of the pond. The cities of choice being London, Manchester, Norwich and here in Brighton and this evening we find ourselves camped at the front in Dust, which is located at 77 East Street.
We are in the ladies company for 61 minutes from 9pm to 10:01pm and during that time we are rewarded with 19 or possibly 20 tunes. This averages at 3 minutes per track including gaps, so no tune outstays its welcome! Four of the fourteen tunes from their debut ‘Roller Fink’ album are performed, as well as a mighty ten on the dozen tracks on the new ‘Easy As Pie’ platter. I’ve been to Dust on a number of occasions, but I can’t recall it being this rammed before! There’s hardly any room to slightly move, we are packed in solid!
An intro tape mainly consisting of what I presume is 1960’s adverts that would have been broadcast on TV and film booms across the soundsystem as the quartet enter through a door on stage right (our left). Annie sits to the rear behind her kit, Sarah is right in front of me on stage left (our right), Shermy is in the centre, and Nicole is to our left (stage right) and she has the sole microphone which is used to address the crowd when required. This evening, their corporate wardrobe consists of knee length white go-go boots, black shorts which are held up by retro chain belts, and leopard skin tops. There are beehive hairdo’s as well and I’m guessing long false eye-lashes and relevant makeup. They sound like the early work of The Shadows but in a surf style and are much easier on the eye!
The twanginess commences with a couple on tunes from their ‘Roller Fink’ album, the aptly titled ‘Warm Up’ followed by ‘Couch Surfing’. After which Nicole addresses the faithful for the first time: “Hey, thank you so much! How you doing?”. We are then informed that the next tune is a new song and is the title track from ‘Easy As Pie’. This is greeted by approval from the fans and the girls take it away. Their cover of Los Siderals ‘El Condor Pasa’, a 2022 single by The Surfrajettes, whizzes by, so much so I don’t really absorb it. After a while Nicole tells us that they are going to pay homage to a band from their hometown, these being The Sadies and they launch into ‘Clam Chowder’, which is on the new ‘Easy As Pie’ album. Another cover follows as Sarah lets loose on her bass and they are away with their instrumental take of Blondie’s ‘Heart Of Glass’, where the “Ooh, oh, ooh, oh; Ooh, oh, ooh, oh” chorus is supplied by many in the crowd. It’s a popular choice.
Like us, The Surfrajettes are rooted to the spot as they perform their set. It reminds me of the puppets of The Shadows on Gerry Anderson’s ‘Thunderbirds’, where they were obviously also rooted to the spot! The title track of ‘Roller Fink’ comes next and this is double the speed of ‘Heart Of Glass’ and all the better for it and Annie takes her drumming up another level! After rockin’ on out on ‘Roller Fink’, Nicole then tells us that they are going to play their Halloween tune, as it’s October, this being their standalone ‘Banshee Bop’ single from back in 2022.
We then had no less than eight consecutive cuts from the new LP, beginning with the Caribbean vibed ‘Lickety Split’, which I felt was less immediate than anything else during the whole set. ‘Double Reverb’ was the next selection and this really sounded like early Shadows material. The setlist I could see had ‘She Loves You’ listed next, but it had been scratched out due to trying to get everything in within the hour. So they went straight onto ‘Hot-Doggin’’ which we are told is a cover of a tune from a band from Colorado, these being The Astronauts. ‘Priss & Vinegar’ was up next and Annie was seriously giving her drums a good seeing to during this track. After ‘Word Salad’ we had ‘Instant Coffee’ which for me was the choice track of the whole performance! The twangy guitar and drums combo really worked a treat here and there was much bum shaking by yours truly, as I could move my feet as there wasn’t room.
Nicole then spoke to us again and said “It’s a pleasure to be here in England” and added that many of their favourite bands are from here, she then namechecks The Who, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in that order! It was arguably leaning to them performing a cover from one of those great bands, but then Nicole goes onto add the Spice Girls and they play ‘Spice Up Your Life’ which is on their new LP. The final song of their main set was ‘Toasted Western’ which chugs along at a cowboy’s horse trotting pace (and beat) through the Western plains. After this they exit the side stage door and there are many screams for “more” and shouts of encouragement for the quartet to return. They do!
The Rolling Stones ‘Paint It Black’ kicks things off and what an absolute classic choice! The setlist indicates that this is either a medley of this along with ‘Pipeline’ by The Chantays or it’s a choice of one of the two tunes. To be honest, I don’t recall hearing the beat stray away from ‘Paint It Black’ so ‘Pipeline’ might not have been played, but I’m flagging it anyway. What I do know is they did sign off with a medley, this being their take on Britney Spears ‘Toxic’ which segued into Edvard Grieg’s ‘Satan’s Holiday’ as sounded by The Lancasters back in 1965. After this there was a huge applause and that was our lot and many headed off to the merch stall as a show of approval for a fab night out.
The Surfrajettes:
Shermy Freeman – guitar
Nicole Damoff – guitar
Sarah Butler – bass
Annie Lillis – drums
The Surfrajettes setlist:
(Intro tape)
‘Warm Up’ (from 2022 ‘Roller Fink’ album)
‘Couch Surfing’ (from 2022 ‘Roller Fink’ album)
‘Easy As Pie’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘El Condor Pasa’ (a 2022 single) (Los Siderals cover)
‘Clam Chowder’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album) (The Sadies cover)
‘Heart Of Glass’ (from 2022 ‘Roller Fink’ album) (Blondie cover)
‘Roller Fink’ (from 2022 ‘Roller Fink’ album)
‘Banshee Bop’ (a 2022 single)
‘Lickety Split’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘Double Reverb’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘Hot-Doggin’’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album) (The Astronauts cover)
‘Priss & Vinegar’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘Word Salad’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘Instant Coffee’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
‘Spice Up Your Life’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album) (Spice Girls cover)
‘Toasted Western’ (from 2024 ‘Easy As Pie’ album)
(encore)
‘Paint It Black’ (The Rolling Stones cover)
‘Pipeline’ (The Chantays cover)
‘Toxic’ (from 2018 ‘Party Line’/ ‘Toxic’ single) (Britney Spears cover)
‘Satan’s Holiday’ (Edvard Grieg cover)
Thee Headshrinkers (stylized as THEE HEADSHRINKERS) hail from Hastings and they state that they offer up “Proto punk garage weirdness, think Mark E Smith’s ghost fronting the Stooges and you’re halfway there”. They also quote their influences at “the post-Manson 1960s, vintage guitars and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre soundtrack” and the words “Proto punk garage trashabilly” have also been bandied about. This evening is our debut encounter with the trio of Rob Wilde (vocals, bass), Gino (guitar) and Stiv (drums), although we have previously reviewed a band with a very similar name “Headshrinkers” who hail from the Black Country (West Midlands).
Thee Headshrinkers have been on the case since at least 2018 as that’s when they released their ‘Squeeze My Head’ EP. A further 14 releases have appeared in the meantime, however it’s looking likely that next month will be the trio finally drop their debut studio album, which is called ‘Head Cheese’ and it collects together some previously released material as well as newbies and all 12 tracks were recorded at Ranscombe Studios in Chatham.
This evening we get to hear ten tunes across their 27 minute set, which commenced at 8:12pm and concluded at 8:39pm. Before they play a note, the trio don face coverings whilst on stage, which seems to defeat the point as we have already seen what they look like as they took to the stage to set up their equipment, but I guess it gets the lads in the zone!
They kick off with “Good evening, we’re Headshrinkers” and launch into their 2019 ‘Johnny! (Ain’t Coming Home)’ single, which is included in next month’s ‘Head Cheese’ album. It seems that their analogy of themselves is indeed correct as this tune is not solidly sitting in the surf sound but also there’s the vibe and sneers of the Stooges and New York Dolls going on here. This was very well received by the mixed aged audience. Tune two, ‘Dallas Texas’ (from their forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album), was introduced as “a punky number”. He wasn’t joking and the lines “Problem, problem; Problem, the problem is you; What you gonna do?” from the Sex Pistols ‘Problems’ sprang to mind.
Track three was ‘Motorbike’ which will also be on the album. Vocally, there was a strong hint of Mark E. Smith (The Fall) and musically it was like a rough cut of Iggy’s ‘Lust For Life’. After ‘Derivative’, a surf rock number, we were served with their 2020 ‘Muthaf*cka With A Chainsaw!’ single, which was full-on Mark E. Smith. There was a killer riff from the very off on their gritty ‘Save Your Life’ 2019 single, and the lyrics “It takes a man to kill a man” stuck in my head. Another 2019 single came next with the introduction of ‘Baby Get Lost!’ which has a rockabilly beat. The punk fuelled ‘One Eyed Man’ 2018 single came next and after this we were told that the next track is about driving, this being 2024 single ‘Sunday Driver’ which begins with a real meaty bass sound and again we were back in The Fall territory, but their punk end of the scale. They signed off with ‘Travellin’ Man’ from the 2018 ‘Squeeze My Head’ EP and we are back in New York Dolls territory here. During this Gino broke a guitar string and had to switch to his other one and there was much tremolo action!
It had been a great introduction to the band and I would like to catch them performing live again, should they decide to head back along the A27 or A259.
Thee Headshrinkers:
Rob Wilde – vocals, bass
Gino Isaacs – guitar
Stiv Rippengal – drums
Thee Headshrinkers setlist:
‘Johnny! (Ain’t Coming Home)’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album & 2019 single)
‘Dallas Texas’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album)
‘Motorbike’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album)
‘Derivative’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album)
‘Muthaf*cka With A Chainsaw!’ (a 2020 single)
‘Save Your Life’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album & 2019 ‘Save Your Life!’ / ‘Head On!’ single)
‘Baby Get Lost!’ (a 2019 single)
‘One Eyed Man’ (from 2018 ‘The One Eyed Man’ / ‘’79’ single)
‘Sunday Driver’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album & 2024 single)
‘Travellin’ Man’ (from forthcoming 2024 ‘Head Cheese’ album & 2018 ‘Squeeze My Head’ EP)
www.instagram.com/theeheadshrinkers
Kicking off this evening’s musical entertainment are The Tridents who we first reviewed just over a year ago when they were performing at The Prince Albert. That night they were their usual quartet, but tonight they have streamlined down to just a trio as guitarist Russell Pilfold is currently out of the country. This leaves the talents of Frenchman Kevin Desert on guitar, vocals, whistling, The Atom Jacks Jamie Hewitt on bass, and Chris Pilkington on drums, to hold the fort. Last year they dropped their 6-track ‘Fiat Panda Escape Sequence’ EP and followed that up with a trio of singles this year: ‘Atoll K’, ‘Shotgun Witch Theme’, and ‘Big Nick’.
This evening we are rewarded with nine tunes during their 27 minute set, which commenced at 7:34pm with the famous Johnny Kidd & the Pirates hit ‘Shakin’ All Over’, but this version suddenly hit warp factor ten half way through, which certainly set the tone for the whole evening, with much guitar shaking and twanginess. There was a decent turnout from the start and everyone can immediately see that there’s a togetherness with The Tridents as they are all wearing green and black striped tops and dark trousers.
The surf rock sounds continue with their new single ‘Big Nick’ (aka ‘The Attack Of The Giant Cornichon’) which I think is a Nino Ferrer cover. There was plenty of toe tapping from the audience and the first of a couple of tunes from their ‘Fiat Panda Escape Sequence’ EP came next in the form of ‘Tragic Tide’. But in all honesty this was eclipsed by selection four, ‘Secret Agent Man’ which was penned by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri and was a huge hit for Johnny Rivers back in 1966. Many will know this as the ‘Danger Man’ theme! The mood turned lighthearted with the arrival of a couple of yet to be released tunes, both with amusing titles: ‘The Battle Of East Clintwood’ and ‘Creature From The Hove Lagoon’. As you would expect, the former had a Spaghetti Western vibe going down including some very impressive whistling from Monsieur Desert. It also had the vibe of the No.1 ‘Johnny Remember Me’ single from 1961 by John Leyton. This went down terrifically well and it’s clear that The Tridents had already won the audience over! ‘Creature From The Hove Lagoon’ was another sizeable slab of surf rock.
The shortest track of the whole night was up next in the form of the sub one minute (52 seconds!) ‘Shotgun Witch Theme’ recent single. There was further impressive whistling on their penultimate selection, ‘She Stepped On A Blue Bonnet’ from their ‘Fiat Panda Escape Sequence’ EP. This was very much a tune with a cowboy western vibe and was one of their standout tunes. They signed off with their punky number, this being their take on The Misfits ‘Last Caress’, after which they were awarded heartily loud cheers and at 8:01pm that was our lot!
The Tridents:
Kevin Desert – guitar, vocals, whistling
Jamie Hewitt – bass
Chris Pilkington – drums
Russell Pilfold – guitar (not playing tonight)
The Tridents setlist:
‘Shakin’ All Over’ (Johnny Kidd & the Pirates cover)
‘Big Nick’ (aka ‘The Attack Of The Giant Cornichon’) (a 2024 single) (Nino Ferrer cover)
‘Tragic Tide’ (from 2023 ‘Fiat Panda Escape Sequence’ EP)
‘Secret Agent Man’ (P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri cover)
‘The Battle Of East Clintwood’ (unreleased)
‘Creature From The Hove Lagoon’ (unreleased)
‘Shotgun Witch Theme’ (a 2024 single)
‘She Stepped On A Blue Bonnet’ (from 2023 ‘Fiat Panda Escape Sequence’ EP)
‘Last Caress’ (The Misfits cover)
