Gay for Johnny Depp - Brighton Barfly
Sometimes when I'm reviewing a gig I plan exactly what I'm going to write the next morning in my head. This is usually done after a fair few beers and occasionally a couple of Jaegermeisters. Last night on my way to the gig, I had it all planned out. Here's what I was going to write: "You'd be forgiven for thinking a band with a name like 'Gay for Johnny Depp' would be something of a novelty act. However, after seeing them many moons ago at Download and being the proud owner of their EP 'Blood: The Natural Lubricant (An Apocalyptic Adventure Beyond Sodom and Gomorrah)', I can verify that this band is indeed the real deal. The first thing that strikes you about this etc etc etc".
Anyway, scratch that. I was going to write that before I even entered the Barfly. Unfortunately, occasionally events don't pan out the way I would like them to.
Any band that enters the arena with a lead singer in full vicar get up doesn't deserve to be called anything other than a novelty act. Don't get me wrong, they're a decent enough band, but when you make a statement like that, you're in trouble. Either that or you're just desperately craving attention.
So what of the performance (it's hard to remember anything of not in light of the cock shock tactics employed all night)? Here's the thing, they were remarkably tight live, much more than you'd expect from their slightly haphazard recordings. The band manage to combine their latest album release and older EP surprisingly well. Even the theatrics manage to engage the crowd suitably to make the gig thoroughly enjoyable.
I'm possibly being a little harsh on 'Gay for Johnny Depp', though. The Barfly is a horrendous venue. It's cavernous and devoid of any atmosphere, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt when I say their attempts to shock and cause a stir are as much an attempt to get some atmosphere in this fun vacuum as they are an attempt to just genuinely be the band they think they are.
When they do delver, though, they are very very good. Their renditions of 'Nothing Worse than a Whinging Boy' and the absolutely superb 'Fucking isn't Cheating' show you how good this band could be. Unfortunately, the good moments are heavily interspersed by 'meh' moments. Not great, not bad, just meh. I think that's why I liked the EP so much. All the good concentrated into 15 minutes without any of the meh.
Decent enough performance, and that really is all.