written by Chris Familton

The Gooch Palms set off the evening with some nudity, tattoos and wild garage rock and it was impressive stuff for a two-piece of just guitar and keyboards. Granted there were some pre-recorded drums thrown into the mix but most punters probably didn’t notice the lack of a drummer with the over-the-top antics of frontman Leroy Macqueen. With an impressive chest tattoo. bleached hair and hot pants he was the jester and the showman all rolled into one. Keen to shock and provoke the crowd he courteously introduced us in person to his balls and his arse cheeks amid the garage punk rama-lama sounds. The Gooch Palms were raucous, hilarious and strangely captivating both musically and visually.

Straight Arrows are heading off to tour the USA so this was a farewell show of sorts for them. Spirits in the band and audience were high with party poppers being thrown around, unlimited stage energy and one of the best sound mixes at GoodGod in recent memory. Their album from last year It’s Happening was a trebly and suitably ramshackle sounding record but live they have mutated into a well rounded and solid garage rock outfit. Bad Temper was gloriously bratty and played even faster than the album version. What makes Straight Arrows such a great band is their ability to play quick and dumb before heading into more finessed territory like the melodic gem It Happens Again and the sleazy ghost sounds of Haunted Out.

Super Wild Horses are still playing tracks from last year’s Fifteen and now that they’ve lived in and have been played over and over they sound a lot freer and less mechanical than they have in the past. There was a real balance between Hayley McKee and Amy Franz with both sharing the guitar, drums and vocal duties. Playing music so simple requires the confidence to deal with the spaces and they’ve refined their sound to get maximum impact from limited resources. Mess Around and Fifteen were both irresistibly catchy yet the songs where they allowed more texture and shadows into the guitars and cymbals also made for some superb highlights. Adrian felt like a 60s west coast beach party soliloquy while Golden Town was Super Wild Horses showing they can play create a big and dense and heady sound when they want to.

this review was first published in The Drum Media