Scarlett & Grimes

Scarlett returned home with a group of friends after Rock Metropolis closed for the night. Shortly afterwards, their party was shamelessly gatecrashed by Grimes, clutching a six pack of Dandelion and Burdock, and his band’s new demo CD.

That happened over a year ago, but Grimes is still there. Scarlett could never get him to leave. They have too much fun together.

 

LIVE REVIEWS

THUMP! at The Insanitorium, 13 –10 –06

Audience expectations are riding high when rabbit rock scene stalwarts THUMP! arrive on stage. Tonight kicks off the final leg of the European tour that has seen the band bristling with fast and furious energy. There was never really a chance that the crowd would be disappointed. Although ‘deafened’ or ‘bruised’ were certainly possible.

Inventive rock-based guitar work, combined with Ms Pandora’s powerful bass lines, provide much of THUMP!’s solid appeal. But it’s the mounting tribal rhythms and singer Grimes’ gutteral vocals that ensure the music gets under your skin and propels you into the mosh pit.

An encore is inevitable, and the first song provides a short-lived cool down. The audience are reminded that Grimes has a double-distilled voice that can raise goose bumps when he’s actually singing rather than shouting. But this atmospheric start is the lull before the sonic storm, as THUMP! treat the crowd to another blistering 30 minutes of old favourites.

Mighty drummer Mr Bun punishes the crowd with increasingly frantic beats, while guitarist Spooky Sid takes over on vocals when Grimes abandons the mic to go crowd surfing. The encore disintegrates into chaos, but this is the hallmark of all great THUMP! gigs. A memorable end to a very memorable gig.

 

 

THUMP’s band rehearsal wasn’t going well. Mighty drummer Mr Bun had visited the greasy spoon café, and ordered a full English breakfast to go. The aroma was having a diabolical effect on hungover guitarist Spooky Sid. After Sid’s third trip to the bathroom (and second unsuccessful attempt to get there in time), Grimes was ready to pull the plug. That was until Scarlett jumped up on stage with him, and picked up the discarded guitar. The effect was electrifying. Scarlett crackled with attitude and sparked out sonic fireworks, rocking it like a flame-haired dervish. Grimes joined in and riffed along, although it was hard to keep a straight face. Scarlett simply couldn’t hold any sort of tune together. But she looked fantastic and she was clearly having the best time ever. Grimes decided that even though Scarlett couldn’t play guitar, she was true rock star material.