Drink and Drive

“AND this band… they said… they were from OLD HAM! But what you did not know is… “There’s a new fiend on the loose!” AND they call it… Drink and Drive!” This is how I introduced Drink and Drive’s headline at the Old Pint Pot on the Irwell in south Salford last night. You might well have guessed I was doing my notorious Mark E Smith impression. As soon as this hideous replica finished his spiel, the bass player was on it with the first song intro. Drink and Drive then played the best gig I’ve seen them play. I think it was my fourth time… first time I thought they were OK, second I thought they were really quite good, third I liked them more and this time I’m elevating them to the level of Gnod, ILL, Easter, NASDAQ, Wode, Plank!, Denim & Leather, Locean, Bones Shake, Bobbie Peru, Thee Windom Earles, Witch Fever, Aggressive Perfektor, Primitive Knot, Kiran Leonard, Yossarians, The Birth Marks, Politburo, Jungfraus, Dead Objectives, Throwing Stuff, Rose and the Diamond Hand, Douga, Salford Media City, Ten Mouth Electron, Blue Orchids, Silver Dick, Triangle Cuts, Tekla, Songs for Walter, Sweet Deals on Surgery, Careering, Errant Monks, DUDS, Elle Mary and the Bad Men, The Creature Comfort, The Empty Page, The Sandells, The Dee Vees, Mama Racho, Diagonal Science, Breaking Colts, Lake of Snakes, Tombed Visions, Ghold, Historically Fucked, Paddy Steer, Former Bullies, Secret Admirer, Tom Settle, Jo Rose, Flea, Tout Suite, Gorehead, Grotbags, Astral Bodies, Liines, Cynthia’s Periscope, Sippy Cup, Poppycock, Mold, David Birchall’s various permutations, etc (great gigging Manchester bands of 2018; this is not a complete list so don’t get pissed off if I forgot your band). Two nice surprises: only three quid in on the door and there were actually four bands playing rather than just the two I expected. Sonic AM had a superb hyper rhythm section but I wanted a bit more distortion on the guitar. I asked the singer/guitarist what the AM stood for. He said anything you like so I decided on Sonic AND Monophonic. Both they and Dead Elephants had a hell of a lot of energy. Dead Elephants introduced a great cover of the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy” as “the best song ever written.” I’m more of a Ron Asheton brutal riff fan myself, and I don’t think it’s even the best Stooges song! That’d be “Not Right.” Whatever, their version had me singing along and wanting to get on stage to sing with them! The guitarist told me afterwards I should have done just that… after all that’s’ how Henry Rollins joined Black Flag! Maybe that’s why I asked Drink and Drive if I could introduce them. They are seriously indebted to The Fall to the extent that one song even sounds like a rewrite of “Fiery Jack!” There’s also a little early Wire in some of their riffage, as Steve Shy mentioned when he first told me about them. Anyone know of a currently gigging Manchester band they like that I didn’t mention here? Please mention them below. Some I might have forgotten and some I might not have heard yet.