Main Menu

Front Page

News and Announcements
Ask the Elder
Meet the Council
From the Associates
Night's Beat
Art Gallery

Articles of Interest
Short Story
Interview with a Vampire
Reviews and more
The Vampire's Vestibule
Polls

Letters to the Editor
Comments from the Website
Cartoon Corner
From the Staff
Advertising

Credits
Link To Us
Friends
Past Issues
The Vampire Church
The Darkfear Network

Guestbook


Have a Comment?
Name

Email

Your Comments

Contact

VC Magazine
PO Box 831
Tappahannock, VA
22560
VCMagazine_Staff@
yahoogroups.com


Magazine Staff

Damien Daville, Producer
LA Judge, Editor


Tell a Friend

Click HERE to tell a friend about the VC Magazine.

Top Site Listings

Vote for us in the










MTTV

Greetings all!

This is the event I have been waiting to bring you all for quite some time! This won't be an event/band review of just one band, but rather 3 of them, and all 3 rocked our little world on Tuesday, July 5th, 2005 at The Joiners in Southampton, England!

The Joiners is a well known local club which has been the setting in which many a local and national band has made their musical debut, before moving on to bigger and better things. That being said, we arrived 10 minutes before the doors opened at 8pm. As we entered, the atmosphere was already one of eager anticipation. The inside of the club is small, and mainly black and white, and of course, rather dimly lit, with the exception of the bar area, but it reeks of ambience. Myself and my partner headed toward the stage area, and sat at a small table with our beers which we weren't supposed to drink, but thoroughly enjoyed anyway! I guess the dj had only one disc to play, because it was the same damn grating-on-your-nerves song over and over again, ad nauseum.

The evening began to pick up when I happened to spy Mat Fraser, a well known tv and movie actor (think of the 2003 version of "Helen Of Troy" in which he played the part of the personal soothsayer Calchas, to King Menelaus) who put in an appearance that night for the same reasons we were there. He introduced himself and then sat at the table with me, where we enjoyed a drink and pleasant conversation, before I politely begged for his autograph :o) Thanks Mat, I'm overwhelmed by what you wrote, you naughty boy :o)

Shortly after, one of the opening bands, Valhalla took the stage, and put everyone in a great mood with their very righteous rock/indie style. They blew us away with their thunderous basslines and very cool guitar riffs which quite literally shook the walls and floors all around. They even played a few old favorite covers including "Sweet Home Alabama", and "The Ace Of Spades", both of which were quite good. Now, the guys in Valhalla might well end up shooting me, but in my opinion, they put me in mind of the Manic Street Preachers - they had a similar sound, which went over very well with the gathering crowd, and set the stage on a positive note for the rest of the evening. Many thanks guys, you were pretty great up there :o)

Next up was Stonebreaker, another local favorite currently touring all over the UK. They had a very good heavy rock sound, and the lead singer put me in mind of Glen Danzig by way of his singing in more than one song. I really dug one of their originals called "Change" which started out on a slow and heavy note, and then escalated. "Start Again" was much more spirited with some clean guitar lines and heavy bass, very cool to rock out to. "Already Gone" started off with a BANG! and ended with the same - I think I liked this tune best of all. Stonebreaker is a very solid band. Check em out if you get the chance, folks!

And now onto the real gem of the evening - MTTV. ALL hail.The energy in the club becomes overwhelming and very tasty as the band sets up. The ladies formerly of ROCKBITCH and now MTTV are mingling within the crowd, which excites everyone to dizzying heights. We're all waiting rather impatiently for what we know is gonna be an excellent show. And finally, at long last, they put us out of our misery :o)

I spoke briefly with their manager who said tonight's opening bands were, in his opinion, pretty great, and worthy of a very good review, especially as many of the bands that had opened for MTTV previously simply weren't worth a second glance - I fully agree with the former, and can't comment on the latter, since I wasn't at any of the previous shows, but I can well believe it!

And now they take the stage - Krow's opening comments were "we're gonna start out slow, and then work you up". Slow huh? Are ya sure Krow? :o) They banged away HARD from the word GO! And wanna talk about a funky bassist? Fuse rawks ALL kindsa hard! Man, I could watch/listen to her all night! She was all over the stage, giving her bass some severe measures of hell. And Alex! Ohhhhh Alex..How you moved right into our hearts. A true almighty guitar goddess! Krow, you still blow my mind with your electric voice which captivated everyone in the audience. All eyes are on you, darling. Jo is a veritable power hitter from hell who tore it RIGHT UP! And Brooke and Nikki were definitely the jewels onstage. Brooke blew us away up one wall and back down another with her excellent rhythm guitar, while Nikki enchanted us with her magic fingers all over the keys. Their music is as heavy and delicious as ever it was, but it seemed much tighter and had a darker edge to it. I like the direction they're going in, professionally. I think this style suits them. Those of you, like me, who are die hard ROCKBITCH fans that think you'll be missing out because of a few changes, be ye not dismayed, for the gorgeous goddesses of MTTV will put your minds at ease. Oh yeah! They are soooooooooo BACK!

Alex made a poignant speech saying "You may be wondering what the f**k is going on? why former ROCKBITCH members are up here on stage, fully clothed, instead of naked and f**king each other? We got so many threats that we just couldn't hack it anymore". She went on to say that there were those who just didn't get what they were about, and as a result, were threatened by what they saw instead of putting an actual original thought into their heads, and making an attempt to see beyond rather than simply assume what is not. The main thing which got my attention, was the threat of drugs being planted on them by police. For the law enforcement of the UK who has had their hands in trying to stop gigs in this manner, it's just a real shame. I'd be willing to bet they are the very same ones who went to many gigs with their tongues lollagagging about, and bought the videos and dvd's, and possibly even caught the golden condom award, and took full advantage of what it means to catch it. What happened to freedom of speech and anti censorship? I guess all that somehow went right out the window at some point. Damn shame.

They kicked out with a very raucous "Tramp" after the speeches were finished - very appropriate considering. The tempo kept increasing as they launched into "Hear Me", and by the looks of the crowd, MTTV found their niche once again. It got increasingly heavier with the onslaught of "Blueblood", and I really dug the beginning of "Sun Goes Down" - NICE and heavy :o) It reminded me of an old favorite, "Eveline". Truly they have not lost their touch. Their set was clear as a bell, which is surprising especially as they were playing in a relatively small space - that's excellent technology for ya :o) The Stereotypes did an amazing job of backing vocals as well. They ended with "Daughter To A Killer", complete with lots of stage smoke and the very interesting use of bongoes in the beginning, then an all out assault on the senses from Fuse and Jo with some heavy bass and drums, and grinding guitars. I have to say, this was a truly awesome set, and I felt so lucky to be there. This was a band that I never thought I'd see live, and now I have. One more dream come true on my list :o)

And as if that weren't enough, I got the autographs of them all, plus an invite downstairs to their dressing room to have a beer with Jo and Alex, and a short interview. Our thanks ladies, for being such gracious hostesses. We were honored to have been within your presence, and more than honored to have been given the rare opportunity to see you play live right down the street from our house. It was an unforgettable experience..

Currently, they have an album out, but it's not for sale in any retail shop - the only way you're owning this is to go see a show and have a tenner in your pocket to hand to the very lovely Adrienne at the end of the set. They do, however, have a website up which does feature some sound clips to whet your appetite with. When I told Alex that people were totally devastated by the end of ROCKBITCH, she replied that "we needed to let that band die over a 2 year period before we could move forward again". The new name was brought in as almost a protest to the nothingness found over the television these days - think "empty tv" and you've got it right. As she said, there's absolutely nothing but shit on these days, and they just expect us to swallow it like mindless fools". Ain’t that the truth? Alex, again, many thanks for your hospitality :o)

Ok, no doubt you're dying to go check them out, and I don't blame you one bit! I visit the site almost daily now that my computer is running again, and I'm sure alot of you out here will do the same. That being said, go here to the http://www.mt-tv.com/pages/mt-tvframe.html official MTTV website and have yourselves a blast! Well! I certainly hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed being at the gig, and writing about it! Do enjoy the remainder of the summer, and above all, be safe :o)

In service ~

Silver

MTTV/Stonebreaker images are the sole property of Silver Rainbolt. Image of Mat Fraser is his property and used with kind permission. MTTV banner graphic sole property of MTTV and used with kind permission. Copyright held by Silver Rainbolt/In Medias Res and Damien Daville/Vampire Church. All rights reserved. Theft is punishable by UK/US State and Federal Law.

For Questions, please contact the VC Magazine Staff at VCMagazine_Staff@yahoogroups.com

©1997-2004 Vampire Church -- All rights reserved. No use or reproduction without written consent.