The Dead Pets
Live at Joseph's Well on Thursday, 17th March 2005
Cannily advertised on the ticket as "St Pets' Day" (oh ho ho), tonight is another good indication that while Leeds may be churning out indie kid bands at ten to the dozen right now that the punk scene's flourishing quite nicely as well thank you.
Due to parking problems, I only catch the last three songs or so of openers Guns on the Roof's set but what I do hear is very promising. A ferociously tight thrash-punk combo in the GBH/Abrasive Wheels mould (they even cover the Wheels' "Vicious Circle" as their closing song), they're one of the best new bands I've seen in quite some time and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for their name in future gig listings.
Zombina and the Skeletones, from Liverpool, certainly have an eye-catching enough image with the group looking like "The Addams Family - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Years", prowling the stage in ripped clothes, zombie face paint and loads of fake blood. But they have enough of a set to back it up, careering along like some great long-lost crossbreed between the Ramones, the Misfits and the Meteors. Hopefully they'll be back here soon.
The Dead Pets are also on fine form tonight and you're left scratching your head at how such an undeniably good band are still on the sidelines after all these years. Sure they may not look as sharp as the Kaiser Chiefs but when you've got great tunes like "WMC" and "Dreams Of A Crook" does that really matter? Sadly, a lot of people seem to think it does and that's their loss because tonight the Pets played a brilliant set with plenty of banter (including a mid-set limbo dancing competition) and some top-drawer moshpit anthems that sound like Less Than Jake and Terrorvision having a punch-up in the pub at closing time.
If this band doesn't inspire you to grin and headbang until your neck snaps then you must be dead. All in all, it's the perfect accompaniment to a few pints of Guinness and a top night out.
