It’s a family affair at The Lexington tonight for the second of a pair of sold-out shows at The Lexington in one day from Wild Billy Childish & CTMF with support from The Shadracks. Not only do both acts share a label (the reliably excellent Damaged Goods Records), but CTMF feature husband and wife duo Billy Childish (vocals/guitar) and Nurse Julie (bass/vocals), while Huddie Shadrack (vocals/guitar) is Childish’s son.
Genetics aside, within a few bars it’s clear that The Shadracks are here on merit. Elements of buzzing garage rock, shimmering 60s guitar pop, swampy psychedelia and the occasional grunt of grunge propel a well-paced set that gets plenty of heads shaking in the audience and sets us up perfectly for night’s headline act.
Billy Childish strides onto the stage, Davey Crockett hat on his head and a wide smile on his face, joined by drummer Wolf, sporting a deerstalker, and bassist Julie who has foregone the choice of distinctive headgear, but is equally beaming. Before a note is struck it’s clear that this is their happy place and that we’re in for a treat. They launch into band anthem ‘CTMF’ and an hour-long runaway train ride of rock & roll thrills lurches out of the sidings.
Mark E. Smith once famously said “If it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s The Fall“, with Childish it’s more a case of if it’s him and any line up of the many outfits he’s played in over the years, it’s all of them at once – as such tonight we’re treated to songs from across his 50 year back catalogue, including tracks by The Buff Medways (a spectacular, stuttering ‘Troubled Mind’), Thee Mighty Caesars (‘Lie Detector’) and Thee Headcoats (a rabble rousing ‘Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot’ and set-closer ‘Davey Crockett’). We also get a few covers from the pantheon of rock and roll classics, including a respectful version of Link Wray’s ‘Comanche’, a powerful romp through Jimi Hendricks’ ‘Fire’ and their take on ‘Ivor’, originally by The Who.
And let’s not forget there’s a new album to promote too, the excellent House On Fire (which we spoke with Billy about here). Nurse Julie takes over vocal duties for a few tracks, bringing the tempo down a little and adding a shimmering vintage guitar pop shine to a cover of The Saints’ ‘Untitled’, before Billy returns to the mic for an explosive performance of ‘Keep Mojave Weird’ with its anthemic, chant along chorus line blasted even more powerfully in the live setting than on record. The new tracks more than hold their own alongside the established favourites, and there are already plenty within the crowd singing along, despite the album only having been out for a week.
Childish and his band distil rock and roll music down to its essence and then through some strange alchemy bend it at will into the shape of their choosing, whether that be a full-on punk assault, woozy psych rock or smoking garage beat pop, and pepper it with pithy lines like “We ain’t a garage band we were born in a shed.” Live they create an atmosphere that is at once intense and welcoming, and they’re clearly enjoying themselves as much on stage as we are off it.
Billy Childish is a punk rock national treasure, still creating excellent new music at an astonishing rate and with CTMF tonight proving once again that punk rock ist nicht tot.
Wild Billy Childish and CTMF:Â Facebook
Billy Childish:Â Instagram
The Shadracks: Facebook / Instagram
Damaged Goods Records: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Article by Paul Maps
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