| dsoaudio | gig reviews | LegPuppy/St Lucifer/Corylx/Rodney Cromwell/Still Forever - Cavendish Arms, London

It takes a good line up to get me to South London from Colchester at a weekend these days but this line up, under the banner "Music is Violence", seemed too good to miss; with a couple of great bands I have seen before (Rodney Cromwell and Leg Puppy) and a number of new acts to me Still Forever, Corylx and St Lucifer.

Still Forever

So embarrassingly I had to find a cashpoint before the gig (in the end I need not as the bar was card only) so I was slightly later arriving than I had expected. So I missed the first couple of tracks by this artist. Even more embarrassing was I did not realise that Still Forever was AKA Amy Griffiths with whom I have been Facebook friends for years as we share similar taste in music.

But maybe that was not a bad thing as I found myself being entertained by a very clever artist; whose music was very much to my liking. I found myself carefully watching as Amy tweaked her vocal effects, and triggered sounds from her Novation Controller. Anyway a very interesting performance with great sounds, vocals an lyrics. Memo to self: next time Still Forever are playing get there early to see entire set and say hello to Amy. 7/10

Set List: Medicine, I'd Miss the Stars, Blood and Bone, Underdose, Beautiful Impossible, No Basis for Epiphany, Terrifies Me

I was surprised to find that next up was Rodney Crowell, and almost as surprised to see that in this instance it was down to a solo act. Given the size of the stage and venue this worked well, and Mr Cresswell (Cromwell's real name) was well equipped with Laptop, Melodica, Bass Guitar and a Korg MS10.

Going to be honest any set with Barry Was An Arms Dealer in it is going to work for me. It just hits my warped sense of humour. But this set really worked work as it showed a varied portfolio of tracks, that resulted in the set concluding all to quickly. Black Dog, as ever, reminded me of Temptation by New Order (and one day I might invade the stage and try singing the lyrics of that tune to it). 8/10 (If he could have got Mrs Cresswell along and sing Fenchurch Street it would have got a higher rating!)

Set List: One Two Seven, Barry Was An Arms Dealer, Baby Robot, Kasparov (Arthur & Martha track), Black Dog, Dreamland

So this was a new band to me. Consisting of singer/songwriter Caitlin Stokes and producer/guitarist Brandon Ashley from LA. From a stylistic perspective they look and sound fantastic and very professional but I have to say 'Dark Electro Grunge' is not a genre I am very familiar with. That said, I appreciated the vocal quality and the musical ability of the duo, although for me the guitar parts were almost too clean a sound or maybe just to high in the mix so they hid some of the subtleties of the electronics underneath.

The lyrics of most of the songs are overall very dark and not in anyway commercial and that in this instance is a very good thing. Highlights on first hearing were Sensual Violence and Hot Sex.
Anyway a very interesting group and worth going to see. 7/10

Set List: Twist Like an Animal, Sensual Violence, My Body is Wrong, Nightfalls, Can't Get Enough, Toxic Bones, Self-Mutilation, Hot Sex

Yet another step further away from my normal musical taste or as they themselves have described it themselves St Lucifer play 'Black Metal Gay Disco'. It’s a hard concept but I guess the emphasis should be on the Black Metal part.

So this was a more traditional four piece band, with drums, bass, lead guitar and vocals (also guitar and keyboards). Well, sadly I probably did not hear the band at their best as their lead vocalist admitted he was losing his voice. Nevertheless, it was a most entertaining set with lots of action, lots of variation in tune and tempo. So even if this was not my normal musical taste, I was kept well entertained. 7/10

Set List: Vermin, Slowdance, God Is Love, Suffocate, Kerosene, Trashorama, Falling Not Dancing, No New Gods, Music Is Violence, Kiss Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I always see Legpuppy more as an artistic collective than a band; with Darren, Igor and Bev forming the backbone of the group and others joining them. The main thing about Legpuppy is if they just got on stage like a 'regular band' they would be very good; but in addition they add an entire vaudeville performance. With lights, props, mannequins and clowns.

I found tonight's line up to be especially eclectic given that key vocalist Bev is expecting a baby in three weeks and the introduction of a new 'clown' who entertained the audience by mixing with them (threatening them?) but all with great humour. I do think it is worth noting that behind the humour are some very important messages in the music about the current state of the UK and the world in general.

Set List: Lucid, Nominate, Twit Machine, Kinky Emoji, Into Fight For Right, Tears, Selfie Stick 9/10

LegPuppy/St Lucifer/Corylx/Rodney Cromwell/Still Forever

Cavendish Arms, London - 10 August 2019

"Music is Violence"