Electric Eel Shock / Furistic / Pussycat Kill Kill Kill

Judging by the name of this Dutch band, as well as the predominantly black t-shirted audience, you would be forgiven in thinking Pussycat Kill Kill Kill was a heavy metal affair. However, I was relieved to find that yes they rocked, but also injected a well-judged dosage of folk into the proceedings.

The front “man in black” mirrored the darkly clad crowd and alternated between Dutch and English whilst speaking, though all the songs were in English. His voice was both silky and growling and reminiscent to that of Nick Cave. The singer himself was never dull to watch. As well as the classic rock gestures (accompanied by the head-banging organist), the singer seemed to bathe in the flashing lights, taking time to add an imagined tightrope walk across the already crowded stage. When an over-excited audience member threw a pint over him, he quipped “All that I ever wanted was a cold beer thrown at me. Bring it!” before launching into All That I Ever Wanted.

The band as a whole looked as though they were having the time of their life. In fact, they often seemed to be having their very own on-stage house party; the three guitarists and harmonica-player often gathering around the drummer or organist, lending a rather cosy feel to the proceedings, but please don’t let this fool you into thinking the performance was relaxed. Even in a “quiet” moment the band captivated the crowd’s attention, crouching forwards at the front of the stage whilst the leading man sang to his fans. However, based as I was amongst the amicably swearing, flashing, drink-throwing crowd, these small lulls were hard to come by, and more the better. Pussycat Kill Kill Kill is unmistakably one to watch.

Furistic singer Jolene Grunberg has been classically trained, and it shows. Her singing ability was unmistakably the highlight of the performance. She was also apparently very angry and made up in plenty of black eyeliner, as was her backing guitarist. The drummer had evidently decided to give this a miss, but he was pretty much hidden away at the back, anyway. He did treat us with some tribal beats, however, to get the act going. This Dutch band was reminiscent of Republica, but with a lot more rock.

Electric Eel Shock’s Aki Morimoto enjoys performing. The good-humoured singer began by rubbing his arse at the crowd, and went on to show us how he could lift his guitar (electric, of course) up with his teeth. They’re a good band to watch if you like your metal light, your rock heavy, and what the hell, with a catchy dose of punk mixed in there as well. As the night progressed, so did the mosh pit, and the crowd was even treated to a duet with Furistic’s singer of Loving You, “heavy metal style.” Well, that goes without saying. All in all, this Japanese band is fun to watch, and if you re-listen to their songs after the gig, you might just find that you’ve become a convert.