GZ Presents
Leatherface
Kid Blunt
Easpa Measa
The Voodoo Lounge, Dublin
Wed 10 March 2004
Doors 8.30pm, Adm €7
Leatherface Bio:
Because they were one of those truly astonishing
modern groups that spontaneously combusted in the
midst of an attenuated creative peak, Leatherface´s
unexpected bust-up fife-and-a half years ago seemed
particularly cruel.Thousands of scattered souls openly
mourned when the news came down that the Sunderland,
Northern England punk/post-punk powerhouse had
vanished, literally overnight: On a cold, December
night in 1993, guitarist/frontman Frankie N.W. Stubbs
shocked both a packed crowd at London´s Garage Club
and his own, unsuspecting bandmates, by announcing
that the concert in progress would be the quartet´s
third-to-last ever. (Reached for comment by the
equally suprised U.K. music press, an unhappy Stubbs
claimed he no longer believed the commitment of his
mates matched his own.) True to his word, this
fireball four - the closest thing old Blighty had ever
come to equaling the mix of precision might and
unbelievable musicianship of the Ruts - disbanded a
few nights later. In such sudden and dramatic fashion,
England lost its hottest, most emotional band.
The group´s ever-expanding fan base naturally felt as
if a rug had been pulled from under them. After all,
but a few scant weeks before, Leatherface had entered
London´s Blackwing studios and laid down eight songs
for their fifth LP! The sorrowful feeling increased
when those sessions were released posthumously as The
Last. Far from a spent force, this final work was a
fascinating watershed. The group was greatly expanding
on the rocking, double-guitar detonations found on its
punishing 1991 third LP pinnacle Mush, as well as the
sparkling 1992 Compact and Bijou EP, and the more
subdued, less thrilling, but still sharp 1993 fourth
LP Minx (1989´s Fill Your Boots and 1990´s Cherry
Knowle were good but more formative, less unique punk
records). Even a piano ´n´ drums ditty called
"Shipyards" and a faux-jazz finale were as unaffected
and inspired as the more usual blam-blam blasts, and
"Little White God" was a Ruts-like reggae-punk
masterstroke of unadulterated passion that still
shakes me up just to hear it.
As befit such a tremendous band cut off in its prime,
a deluge of archive releases followed The Last's
release. No less than three scorching live LPs
appeared, as well as a non-LP compilation. Meanwhile,
the gravel-voiced, sore throated Stubbs (one-third
Motorhead's Lemmy, a third Inflammable Material Jake
Burns of S.L.F., and a third Louis Armstrong!)
released a solo acoustic single, as well as a fine LP
each with two trios he formed, first Pope, and then
Jesse. (Other explosive guitarist Dickie Hammond also
kept active releasing records with a group called
Doctor Bison.)
Perhaps by listening to the sea of old live recordings
and b-sides, Leatherface´s members realized what
they'd thrown away, buried what hatchets needed
burying and pulled a Lazarus. Their triumphant return
via a 1998 U.K. tour was incredible news.
And what a good time for their reemergence! When
Stubbs and Co. first emerged, pre-Nevermind, before
U.S. punk became a new, briefly-pathetic plaything for
the collegiate, moshing masses, Leatherface was but
one of hundreds of brave, hard-working underground
bands abroad and here.Now, in a time where there are
thounsands of faceless, nameless, imagination-less,
cookie-cutter "Alternative" bands instead - so much
warmed-over metal and 10th-rate punk - Stubbs'
tantalizing songwriting, and erudite,
generous-heart-on-sleeve lyrics, on top of the band's
crisp, explosive playing, and most of all, their
outright, undeniable desire, seem a total anamoly as
well as antidote. That this unexpected LP is a
reality, and that Leaterface's ardent onslaught will
fire off stages here soon, is that rarest of things: A
longshot wish fulfilled.
Upcoming:
True North/Serpents/Langdon Beck - Lower Deck 5 April
Kaospilot/Angora Static/My Remorse/Scientific Bong -
Frazers 8 April
Future:
Macrocosmica, Against Me!, Jenniferever, Grabass
Charlestons
Leatherface
Kid Blunt
Easpa Measa
The Voodoo Lounge, Dublin
Wed 10 March 2004
Doors 8.30pm, Adm €7
Leatherface Bio:
Because they were one of those truly astonishing
modern groups that spontaneously combusted in the
midst of an attenuated creative peak, Leatherface´s
unexpected bust-up fife-and-a half years ago seemed
particularly cruel.Thousands of scattered souls openly
mourned when the news came down that the Sunderland,
Northern England punk/post-punk powerhouse had
vanished, literally overnight: On a cold, December
night in 1993, guitarist/frontman Frankie N.W. Stubbs
shocked both a packed crowd at London´s Garage Club
and his own, unsuspecting bandmates, by announcing
that the concert in progress would be the quartet´s
third-to-last ever. (Reached for comment by the
equally suprised U.K. music press, an unhappy Stubbs
claimed he no longer believed the commitment of his
mates matched his own.) True to his word, this
fireball four - the closest thing old Blighty had ever
come to equaling the mix of precision might and
unbelievable musicianship of the Ruts - disbanded a
few nights later. In such sudden and dramatic fashion,
England lost its hottest, most emotional band.
The group´s ever-expanding fan base naturally felt as
if a rug had been pulled from under them. After all,
but a few scant weeks before, Leatherface had entered
London´s Blackwing studios and laid down eight songs
for their fifth LP! The sorrowful feeling increased
when those sessions were released posthumously as The
Last. Far from a spent force, this final work was a
fascinating watershed. The group was greatly expanding
on the rocking, double-guitar detonations found on its
punishing 1991 third LP pinnacle Mush, as well as the
sparkling 1992 Compact and Bijou EP, and the more
subdued, less thrilling, but still sharp 1993 fourth
LP Minx (1989´s Fill Your Boots and 1990´s Cherry
Knowle were good but more formative, less unique punk
records). Even a piano ´n´ drums ditty called
"Shipyards" and a faux-jazz finale were as unaffected
and inspired as the more usual blam-blam blasts, and
"Little White God" was a Ruts-like reggae-punk
masterstroke of unadulterated passion that still
shakes me up just to hear it.
As befit such a tremendous band cut off in its prime,
a deluge of archive releases followed The Last's
release. No less than three scorching live LPs
appeared, as well as a non-LP compilation. Meanwhile,
the gravel-voiced, sore throated Stubbs (one-third
Motorhead's Lemmy, a third Inflammable Material Jake
Burns of S.L.F., and a third Louis Armstrong!)
released a solo acoustic single, as well as a fine LP
each with two trios he formed, first Pope, and then
Jesse. (Other explosive guitarist Dickie Hammond also
kept active releasing records with a group called
Doctor Bison.)
Perhaps by listening to the sea of old live recordings
and b-sides, Leatherface´s members realized what
they'd thrown away, buried what hatchets needed
burying and pulled a Lazarus. Their triumphant return
via a 1998 U.K. tour was incredible news.
And what a good time for their reemergence! When
Stubbs and Co. first emerged, pre-Nevermind, before
U.S. punk became a new, briefly-pathetic plaything for
the collegiate, moshing masses, Leatherface was but
one of hundreds of brave, hard-working underground
bands abroad and here.Now, in a time where there are
thounsands of faceless, nameless, imagination-less,
cookie-cutter "Alternative" bands instead - so much
warmed-over metal and 10th-rate punk - Stubbs'
tantalizing songwriting, and erudite,
generous-heart-on-sleeve lyrics, on top of the band's
crisp, explosive playing, and most of all, their
outright, undeniable desire, seem a total anamoly as
well as antidote. That this unexpected LP is a
reality, and that Leaterface's ardent onslaught will
fire off stages here soon, is that rarest of things: A
longshot wish fulfilled.
Upcoming:
True North/Serpents/Langdon Beck - Lower Deck 5 April
Kaospilot/Angora Static/My Remorse/Scientific Bong -
Frazers 8 April
Future:
Macrocosmica, Against Me!, Jenniferever, Grabass
Charlestons
