Toyracer vs Sure Thing night @ Flapper and Firkin Birmingham 11.07.2001

Thank god for cheap and late trains. And damn London Underground for suspending the entire Northern Line that day. It's quite a miracle I actually ever made it to Birmingham. Yes, Birmingham indeed. Toyracer hit the road, so to say. Having never been to Birmingham before, the whole this was quite an adventure.

And, the Flapper and Firkin is nowhere near the train station. Other minus points for Birmingham include the lack of soft drinks at Mac Donald's and scary old men running around trying to grab people's bags.

Moving on to the positive aspects...(did I mention the sound guy was late?)...The Flapper and Firkin. You may think what you like of Firkin pubs in general, but the basement venue of this one is actually quite cute.

TARTRAZINE

Due to a severe lack of drummer, the Birmingham crowd witnessed a rather eclectic set from Em Sparkle and co. : a drum machine that apparently couldn't be heard on stage at all, a customised intro-song (we're taaaaaaartraaaaaziiine...) and borrowing other people's (Leaf's to be precise) drummer. That was after they tried to fool people with a fake drummer named Alistair, of course (who was actually purple and, erm, rather light-headed).

Talking about the drum machine, it has to be said that it was a very retro affair, as the sounds verged on being a human beatbox. And if you ever want to see a girl in spikey stiletto heels discodancing, just wait until the 'Tarts drummer misses out on a gig again.

LEAF

Leaf's last gig before their extensive summer break. And apparently the last one with that very setlist. For a change, the audience was not camping on the floor this time. Apart from that guy with the camcorder, of course.

By the time Leaf were on, a few more people had turned up and even though it wasn't uncomfortably crowded, the place looked rather full.

Although Leaf's plan of flyering girls on girls only during the afternoon didn't quite work out, because the audience turned out to be a well proportioned girl/boy one.

The good thing about Birmingham compared to London seems to be the fact that people actually watch bands they never heard of before. Which has to be a good thing! And it proves that it is actually possible for bands to break out of the London toilet circuit without causing major disasters. Hurrah.

VENUS IN FURS

What can I say, the 'Furs rocked yet another venue. They'd make even the grimmest-looking place look like The Crystal Palace. Naturally, old (ie Stunt Girl) and new favourites inspired the Flapper's crowd to, erm, start a teen pop riot (clapping and cheering that is). Whooohooo!

And to clear up any confusions about the whole Venus in Furs vs. Kenickie thing, here's a quote from Fake it and go Home fanzine for you

"They're from the North East! They have girls in the band! Warning: Cheap and lazy Kenickie comparisons inevitavble...I'd like to avoid that, but mmm, it's hard...like Kenickie, Venus in Furs are big on glitter and fun and poppy punk, but they deserve more than being written off as just mini-pseudo Kenicks. B'cos they rock".

(for info on Fake it and go Home, please email just_another_faker@hotmail.com)

I couldn't agree more with the "they rock" bit. And Venus in Furs are not just another bunch of hysterically screaming teens (think Period Pains and think no further) either. Obviously that's not only due to the fact Venus in Furs are actually a boy/girl group, something that appears to be frequently overlooked these days. No, it's also because the 'furs singer Becky can actually sing (she can endlessly go "one two three four", too, and it still sounds good. Yes, the soundcheck took ages...). So can the girl who operates the keyboard. The sound of which adds a rather POP! vibe to Venus in Furs' catchy punkpop tunes.

I'll leave you with yet another quote from Fake it and go Home:

"They've obviously been around a while and know what they're doing. In fact they were probably scribling 'Venus in Furs r gr8!' on their desks and schoolbooks and planing a glittery world domination when you were still dreaming of Take That."

OH AND IN CASE THIS OLD GUY WHO DIDN'T PAY TO GET IN READS THIS: WE HATE YOU AND WE'LL HAVE YOU KICKED OUT NEXT TIME!