What can I add to Sasquach's great write up and his lovely pics? Hmm.
Dear diary,
on Friday I went to that London to see Mikabomb play. It was their first UK gig in 6 years and my first time to see them.
Due to having taken pain-killers on an empty stomach, by the time I got to the venue I was starting to feel somewhat the worse for wear and as the doors weren't due to open for 5 minutes, I thought it best to get a quick bite to eat. So I wound up missing the first half of the first bands set. So I also didn't get their name. A two-piece, 1m & 1f, they were OK but not really my thing. They had some trouble with the sound which pretty much set the scene for the rest of the evening. The other bands playing were all also troubled to a greater or lesser extent with sound problems.
The room the bands were playing in was roughly square in shape with a small knee-high stage in one corner The drum-kit was squeezed right back into the corner with barely enough room for the drummer to get past the kit to the stool. The back half of the room was raised in a number of wide steps so that people at the back of the room would have a good view of the stage over the heads of those at the front and early on in the evening most people had positioned themselves there, no doubt because the wide tops on the safety rails made very handy tables for drinks.
Next on were Lord Numb, I agree with Sasquach, best support of the evening. If you're curious about them here's an example, but on the night they were much better than this clip.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOAk-MvzfcwThen came The Beautiful game, who seemed to have quite a following in the room. Again if you're curious
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2M5p7qiipsNext up was Rhonda,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNfJHJ8ZurE with a blonde-haired singer rather reminiscent of Amy Winehouse, including the cheesy flash-card tattoos, but she is much better looking and has great legs.
Now the wait was over, Mikabomb. What made it extra special was I knew that Ergi was going to make an appearance. Woo-hoo, two incarnations in of MB in one evening!
The room was quite sparsely populated when the first band was on, but it filled up as the evening progressed. But a fair few people stayed in the bar until Mikabomb started playing.
It didn't take long to get the stage rearranged and set up and then Mikabomb were on.
In my fantasy set that had been playing in my mind for weeks before the gig, they always started with Contact Tokyo. I was not disappointing. That was the song they started with. Joy! It wasn't like the super-polished CD version, it was a raw vibrant sound. Punk. Reminiscent of early Shonen Knife. During this song there was a brief microphone cut out, one of a number of microphone problems which recurred throughout the gig. Later during the set mic problems sometimes resulted in howls of feedback and mains hum also crept in from somewhere. But if anything this only added to the experience.
Due to being right up against the tiny stage and Mika H being so lively and all the young things leaping about just behind me, I had problems with videoing the gig. Mika was often so close that I couldn't film her and had to point the camera elsewhere. More than once her breath steamed up my camera lense and a few times it just gave up trying to focus. She also moved across the stage much quicker than I could follow. I wont dwell on the stress that I had to endure from the rhythmic bashes I was getting from the young cuties behind me, but they sure made my hand shake rather more than my camera's anti-shake abilities could handle. From being jostled! Tut-tut. Oh the trials and tribulations that I have to endure for the sake of art! Poor me.
They sizzled through a blistering set and then the "special guests" hit the stage. First to come on was Ergi on drums. A chorus of, "We love you Ergi!" rose from the crowd in mostly female voices, and cheers from the male contingent. Then as he was settling down behind the drums someone else joined the stage. Was that Wataru Idol? The two ousted girls then took over the role of backing singers. We were then treated to Super Sexy Razor Happy Girls and Magic Boots.
I hesitate to say this, and may get hated for doing so, but for me those last two songs were even better than the all-girl line up. Added bite. The drums certainly took a beating and the bass got well and truly thrashed.
I'd wanted to get some decent footage of Ergi, but the bass player prevented that. He was right in my face and sometimes made it impossible to film more than mega close-up of parts of him. He also spent a fair bit of time leaning up against me with the bass firmly against my shoulder stopping me from moving. He also steamed my lense up.
All too quickly the set was over and the band left the stage.
About a minute later Mika came back on and said that they'd forgotten to do a song. She looked at the sound booth and asked if they could do one more. The band quickly regained the stage and they launched into Heart Attack. My joy was complete - finishing with another favourite of mine.
Did I enjoy the gig? Were Mikabomb as good live as I hoped they'd be? Would I go and see them again? Are they cute? Is Mika still hot?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!
PS Mikabomb live have the same analgesic effects that Shonen Knife do!