SOUTHPORT + TIC8th February 2001Tic formed 5 years ago under the name of Johnny Thunder. Originally a three-piece with Phil (singer/guitarist) James (drums) and Lorrie - now of Sniffy Nixon - on (bass). Since then they had Matt replace Lorrie on bass until he went to Australia and that’s when Dave came in. Tic are James Mitchell (drums), Phil Mitchell (guitarist/singer), Dave (bass), Will Savage (scratches and lead guitar), Mark Turner (samples) and Daniel Kerr (twitchy dances and vocals). Tic’s musical influences range and vary, and have changed over the years. They looked to grunge for their inspiration in the earlier darker times, but they have now developed a strong taste for bands such as Shellac, Idlewild and Hofman, and bad bad hip-hop and dark dark drum'n'bass. The band look to play as many gigs as they possibly can this year and release the Electricity Makes Me Happy E.P. Tic is a band that I kept missing out on, but having heard so much about their onstage antics with puddings I just had to drag myself away from the drawing board for one night. Sadly this night there were no puddings, however there was this totally stimulating performance that had me glued through-out the whole set. This band have an astounding stage presence that ties nicely into their magnetic tunes. Singer Dan has some really weird dance moves that are quite intriguing and add to the theatrics. The vocals were very reflective and higher pitched than most bands but that, mixed in with strong guitar sounds entwined with bass, made one of the most electrifying synthetical rides I’ve heard in a long time. It gives them that unique and obscure edge that is so rare in today’s younger bands.  After watching Tic I had time to get another drink before catching up with Southport. Headliners of the night Southport started playing together only about 18 months ago and who would have thought they would have landed on their feet where they are today. Simon (guitar), Nick (bass) and Duncan (drums) all tie an array of musical influences into the band from Soul, Funk and Reggae which actually comes out sounding more like punk. They all plan to get proper jobs and stop playing punk in pubs, but like Simon said, "like so many plans, I think it might all come to nought." Southport have one album out on the New York label Go-Kart which has been licensed to Golf Records in the UK and they are releasing another album later on in the year. Live Southport were really fascinating to watch, especially the drummer who had this mad but happy grin on his face through-out. As soon as they started my foot was sent into a mad tapping frenzy. They have the most enthralling stage presence that was delivered with a powerful blend of catchy bass lines, some good punky riffs and beats that just got the adrenalin streaming. Southport were rich with quality and a very valuable asset to the UK music scene. This was another good night of music and entertainment from The Club With No Name and I can’t wait to see Tic again. Jed, GIMPmag. |