08 December 2014 (gig)
20 December 2014
There is something in the air tonight; hard to place what exactly a certain feeling that this is going to be special.
It is a mystery as to why Triggerfinger are still stuck playing in a small half-full club in this country. Their fundamental sound is not that far removed from the likes of Rival Sons, though there’s a clinical streak in Triggerfinger’s music that some may find difficult. If they feel any resentment about the fact that a few days before they were playing major theatres in Belgium and Holland it didn’t show. They plugged in, stepped on stage and proceeded to rip a new one.
Concentrating on the new album, they open with a blistering Black Panic. And the dynamic of the band is laid bare with Ruben Block’s lacerating riffs and vocals to the fore, underpinned by the ever so cool Monsieur Paul’s rumbling bass and Mario Goossens going all Keith Moon behind the drums.
At times there’s a garage rawness about the performance just throwing things out to the wind. Though they can sleaze it up too, as they did with Perfect Match as it slinks along on killer stilettoes. Want Heavy? There’s And There She Was Lying in Wait’s caterpillar tracking groove crushing all before it. And as the set progresses, that something in the air is now tangible, filtering out into the crowd and as they get caught up with the maelstrom on stage.
Lest you think this is just base assault on the senses they lob in the hypnotic, slow burning grandeur of My Baby’s Got a Gun to jar the set a bit. They round off the set with old favourites All this Dancing Around (plus drum solo) and an exhilarating version of Is It.
They are an astonishing live band, musicianship as tight as the proverbial, with a matching stage presence. There’s a selfishness that says don’t tell anyone, and continue to enjoy the frenzy of the club shows, but there’s also a curiosity to see them on a bigger stage with their own lights and whatnot.
