Theatre of Hate

Are you aware of age regression ? It’s a condition whereby elderly citizens may regress a few years back from their current age or, in some cases, revert to a child-like or infant-like state.

Many reasons can lead to this infantile behaviour in seniors, but all the reasons stem from confusion.

Now I knew this. I just didn’t think it applied to bands. But on the evidence of this gig it probably does.

For Theatre of Hate were formally a powerful, exciting and relevant band. Fronted by the formidable Kirk Brandon they exploded onto the music scene in the eighties with a combustible mixture of punk, rockabilly and goth inspired songs.

At their height they were THE band to see live and indeed their first album He Who Dares Wins was recorded in the Leeds warehouse. This translated into chart success and even a Top of the Pops appearance with the seminal Do You Believe in the Westworld in 1982.

Brandon remained the cornerstone of the band as it went through multiple personnel changes continuing to tour regularly and selling out mid-sized venues to a loyal following.

Which it was why it was particularly disappointing to find only a few dozen punters had bothered to show up to see the punk pin-up in the flesh.

This gig was part of the ever-expanding Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and there was a number of alternative events and gigs occurring on the same night. That could account for the low turnout.

But equally disheartening was the fact that the band had so literally reverted to their past life of playing in an upstairs pub with no stage lighting, an untidy cloth backdrop and using a store room to change in.

Certainly Brandon seemed confused by the surroundings , or was it just boredom? Because for a band that took its name from Antonin Artaud’sTheatre of Cruelty concept that called for explicit audience emotional involvement, this was one gig that was seriously lacking in drama.

Sure, the right notes were hit and the band looked the part but the gig itself had the emotional intensity of a pensioner bingo night except a bingo caller indulges in more audience interaction.

The only saving grace were the songs themselves.

From the opening number Westworld through classics like Original Sin, The Hop and Incinerator and finishing with the rousing Rebel Without a Brain, Brandon’s genuine songwriting talent was evident.

Now then; eyes down.

Number 41 - Bang on the Drum! But do it like you mean it, eh?