Lennons is one of those places not many have heard of but when dropped into conversation people seem to know where it is. It looks quite intimidating from the outside but once inside you are greeted by a clean, modern club with a great atmosphere and of course, great music!
Saturday nights at Lennons are home to Club Psychedelia where between live acts, DJ’s pay homage to the greats of the golden ages as well as playing modern indie and rock and roll tunes.
The first band of the night was The Plastic Beat Band. Complete with leather jackets, tight trousers, eyeliner and hair gel, this band came across as a mix of the T-Birds and David Bowie! Their set was tightly packed and felt quite rushed at times. The energy of the band came across well however, with the setlist sounding like it was 20 odd minutes of fast and fiery rock and roll, there were no tracks that really stood out.
They were followed by four lads with big hair and paisley shirts, who call themselves New Electric Ride. Hailing from Sunderland (though now based in London), this psychedelic rock band sound dangerously close to the likes of Tame Impala – not that that’s a bad thing right? They opened their set with a track off their EP, ‘Mr Bumblebee’; a very chilled out song that sounded if it could’ve been lifted from Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The band played through their 5 track self-titled EP and latest single ‘All Who Know You’, both of which can be purchased here. They appeared very well rehearsed and their tight set is one I will remember for a long time coming. Clearly influenced by the likes of Tame Impala, Captain Beefheart and the later works of The Beatles, if you’re a fan of any of these, I urge you to check these guys out.
At a few minutes past midnight, 12 Dirty Bullets took to the stage and quickly opened with a track from their KOKO EP (a 5-track EP that was given out at a gig at KOKO, Camden 13/09/13). This was followed by the singles ‘Motown’ and ‘She Could Love You Forever’ from the 2012 album Riddles. The latter showcases the bands fiery energy and Jamieson’s somewhat outrageous lyrics: “I’m sorry young girl I don’t believe in love, I’m like my mother, I believe in drugs”.
The band played two newer tunes, which slowed the tempo of the set, before turning up the volume with a crowd favourite ‘Champagne & Cocaine’. Since they were no tables in Lennon’s (“She’s dancing on the table…”), the crowd reacted in the best way one could think of at a moments notice – jumping up and down wildly and forming a rather unsuccessful circle pit!
The band completed their set with other favourites ‘Fatman’ and the fantastic ‘Riddles’ and proceeded straight into their encore with the lead track from their debut album ‘Downside of Making A Living’.
Though their set felt short for the headlining act, a great deal of energy and fun was packed into around 35 minutes. One thing that is clear is that due to the band writing, recording and producing everything they do themselves, listening to 12 Dirty Bullets live is just as good as listening to the album but with a pint, surrounded by mates in a great venue.
