Terrorvision/Syteria/The Dukes of Bordello -
Corporation, Sheffield, Friday 9th September, 2022
Oh it's been a while since we covered a show in the Corp big room – 7 months in fact! How time flys right? Anyway, tonight it's a three band bill that actually happened due to the sad pulling of Rockin' The Bowl.... every cloud I guess?!
Set List: All In The Name Of Rock & Roll/Hellvis/Down In The Gutter/Strychnine/She's My Witch/ Alternative Jesus/Come Back Wilko (All Is Forgiven)/Coloured Blues/Scream If You Wanna Go Faster.
First up are no strangers to the Sheffield stages, the local arse kickers themselves, The Dukes Of Bordello, fronted by Andy Barrott, (also of Chrome Molly who are currently on hiatus and have been a while as Neil is in Wayward Sons). Mr. B has travelled all the way up from Wales – not the one that's next to Kiveton Park but the one further afield down south and to the left a bit.
A punky fun kinda set we get that is jam packed with rockabilly meshed with psychobilly that is as raw as hell – especially vocally with those harsh, hard throaty rasps on offer from Andy. He bawls and shouts those lyrics at us like he is spitting out gob fulls of clotted poison as well as that stand-up bass brilliance of Chip Waite and dynamic drums from Craz Taylor too as a cracking rhythm section.
The Steel City folk plus many from other parts of the UK are really enjoying the D.O.B blasts. It's a good half full at least in the room early on to see these old boys. For them, to be able project and propel their material at us from the large stage is a banquet of greatness with the appreciation and singing along of the audience being the icing on the cake.
Giving us a slab of well known numbers like the trashy 12-Bar 'Come Back Wilko (All Is Forgiven)', a cover of Kip Tyler's 'She's My Witch' who we were told was the 1st ever Punk Rocker and the horriffying 'Strychnine' with its cheesey scary notes.
They can simply do no wrong in here even though you can tell they are a bit rusty around the edges and probably not played together in ages – with the odd bum note shooting off that guitar now and again proving it's all real and not an ounce of Memorex in site – no safety net, the way we like it most.
This trio are a warts 'n' all, perfect ingredient warm-up or should I say roast-up to get things going in the right direction. The Dukes Of Bordello drive their set to an ultimate close via 'Scream If You Wanna Go Faster' with its fast chunky riffs and then they are done.... for now!
Set List: Guilty/It Hit Me/Revolution/Reflection/Get A Life/Gossips/Plastic Fantastic/I’m All Woman/People Are The Real Monsters You Can’t Hide From/Make Some Noise/Halloween.
Syteria take the second (middle position) slot on the bill which is not a bad filling in this sandwich to say the least. They were last here headlining in the small room at the far end of the venue so it's marvellous to see them move up a rung and play the big stage that seem even more fitting for – not that I am knocking the close intimacy of previous.
Lead Guitarist, Jackie Chambers had flown in the night before from Europe since she had come straight off the Girlschool tour to do the show (with a dep covering any day job commitments she was unable to do – it's not exactly cost effective to go back in to Europe after right?). She is giving off no signs of tiredness either. Well she is a pro and totally seasoned musician and no doubt used to stuff like this.
The other members Julia Calvo AKA Julia Vocal (Vocals), Pablo Calvo (Drums) and Stephanie Dawson (Bass) are as hot to trot as ever with Miss. Vocal engaging with every member of the crowd, giving it all she's with her strong voice backed up by lovely choral vocals too as well as prime musicianship of course. She also makes use of every possibly available part of the stage, entertaining with sultry moves and strong plus solid smiles from all of Syteria.
The fans ears are greeted with their own blend energetic hard rock and metal much to everyone's pleasure with a mass of highlights lifted from both of their studio albums that included the opening, stomping sweet as hell 'Guilty' with its cracking vocal arrangements & the bringing us all togetherness of 'Revolution' which we could certainly do with right now.
Then there was the powerfully messaged 'I'm All Woman', the take some control of 'Make Some Noise' and finally the spooky celebratory hilariousness of 'Halloween' where we are magically treated to loads of Haribo! Anyways, it was marvellous to see them up there and they did a real fine job – one day they may even headline this room.
Set List: Intro Tape - Funky Town (Lipps Inc.)/Enteralterego/Come Home Beanie/American TV/If I Was You/The Night That Lemmy Died/Tequila/Didn't Bleed Red/Go Jerry/Celebrity Hit List/Daydream/D'Ya Wanna Go Faster/Alice, What's The Matter/Discotheque Wreck/My House/Pretend Best Friend/New Policy One/Some People Say/Middleman/Sometimes I'd Like To Kill Her/Babylon/Josephine/Oblivion.
Encore: Perseverance/Outro - Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon)
Well I saw headliners, Terrorvision in Sheffield in the mid 90's at another large venue – where does time go? Last year they played such a good show in a large field in Newark so I had a good inclin how good they would be in here tonight.
Tony Wright and the rest of the lads should have been headlining Rockin' The Bowl which was cancelled but we got them here instead on a Friday night which is rather hot and sweaty – but that's Rock 'N' Roll – the way we like it.
The heat does not even seem to register with Mr. Wright at all who soldiers on as normal for 2 hours like a young Mick Jagger – he hardly stopped run and bouncing about – seeming to have constant endless energy right the way thorough.
It literally wore you out watching him at work – now there ain't that many you can say that about these days. After chatting with my buddy, Bernard Froggatt later in the week I found out that Tony has also worked as a Stone Mason too so little wonder he is as fit as a butchers dog.
Terrorvision have so many rocking, fantastic pop 'n' roll tunes to feature in a show yet they still have you wanting more because they are that entertaining giving us classic cuts like the bass-throbbing greatness of 'Middleman' with its strong memorable chorus, the uneasy balladeering 'Bad Actress', the pojo-poppery of 'Best Friend' the left of centre sounding 'Josephine', the brash 'n' grunge-like 'Alice, What's The Matter?', the raucous blasting at ya 'My House' and the smash it hard on the dancefloor of 'Discotheque Wreck' to name but a few.
You cannot help but have a huge grin on your face – to quote a lyric from The Who 'Even the Promoter smiled' and little wonder why as well. So much sing-along throughout the entire show with even a new number thrown into the set from a forthcoming album – how lucky are we to receive this!
It was bittersweet but nice to hear them perform 'The Night That Lemmy Died' since many remember that moment and the grief and loss we all feel to this day. But it's a full bout of chaos and not a down in the dumps sloy. Something else that we also got was the first ever lyric changed performance of 'Oblivion' because he Tony asks 'Should I write and tell the King' as opposed to Queen who passed away the previous day – all due respect there mate! Good one! You cannot beat a bit of 'Ooh wop bop ba doo wop. Bop ba doo wop. Bop ba doo' can you?
The vast majority of us danced our asses off to these gems in former years in this very club back in the Reservoir Rocks days every Saturday night or even further back when DJ Mutley spun their records at the Drop under the City Hall, Sheffield – Oh the memories! It makes you feel old! Hahaha!
The other two original members, Guitarist, Mark Yates & Bassist, Leigh Marklew look as cool as ever up there and are the perfect foil to Wrights leap and bounce around the stage routines, having the rock 'n' roll and dapper look respectively with impeccable, second to none musical talent with newer addition (well since 2010), Cameron Greenwood keeping the beat going like a human metronome (sorry bad cliche) on that drum kit.
What can I say? Outstanding all round I guess is one way of putting it with the 'Vision encoring with 'Percy And Vera' as we used to fondly refer to it in the heyday ('Perserverance' to the unitiated hahaha). Mass applause and more came after this with Tony swinging from the stage ceiling at the front like a wild orangutang trying to impress a female – think 'Any Which Way You Can?' the Clint Eastwood film from about 1976 – hahaha – brilliant all the same.
They leave the stage branding a lasting fabulous impression in our minds. Nobody does it better than Terrorvision.... even Carly Simon agrees it seems!
By Glenn Milligan