Becoming quite the cult phenomena due to their eclectic stylings, nonsensical sound and simply buzzing personality, Electric Six brought forth some of the greatest rock’n’roll tracks to come out of the early 2000s tonight, when the group played to a sold out Concorde 2. They bring with them the most bizarre of shows which truly lives up to their legendary status.

Opening tonight are Mutant Monster and all I can say about this trio is, wow. Seriously, I pity anyone who was foolish enough to not make their set. Punk-rock hailing all the way from Japan, the band’s sound is tight, heavy and brings one hell of a kick through intricate riffs and powerful vocal chants. As the trio enter the stage under a monumental piece of cinematic sound, they burst into a tightly co-ordinated piece of choreography before bursting into some seriously brutal instrumentals. Their entire set is fun, energetic and simply mesmerising to watch. Japanese punk may seem like a pretty niche genre which many may not know about, but there is some terrific talent to be had here and I would implore you to check Mutant Monster out.

It’s an interesting start to the evening as Electric Six walk on stage and break into the brilliant riffs of ‘Rock And Roll Evacuation’. Already all eyes are glued to vocalist Dick Valentine and you can see the entire crowd is fully on board! The instrumentals are simply colossal and Dick’s American powerhouse vocals are incredibly awe-inspiring, you can already tell this is going to be a pretty mad show.

The group are all dressed in flamboyant suits and sunglasses, it’s incredible they’re able to see their instruments at all. Not a single note is missed though and the solo work floods the room in a divine manner, ringing loud and true whilst providing the aspect of electricity the show needed to get well under way. Image is a big part of an Electric Six show and Dick proceeds to tell us of a story where he overhears someone in Brighton saying, “Electric Six just aren’t cool any more…”, the crowd gasp in disbelief! However, with a show this intense, these guys are proving they are rock-stars through and through. Just as the room’s energy reaches a new high, the group bring out the classic ‘Down At McDonaldz’ and the audience morph into another flood of chants and bouncing whilst Dick continues to dominate the stage’s entirety.

We all knew it was coming at some point, but I don’t think anyone was quite ready for ‘Gay Bar’ to make a mid-set appearance. Those in the bar area of the venue quickly flood towards the stage, whipping out their phones and screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs for their Instagram stories. For a band with over 13 studio albums, it must be frustrating to have such a classic under your belt and, as such, it does seem a little rushed. Nonetheless, though, this crowd are just happy to have heard the track and it’s clear Electric Six are eager to keep bringing their fans new material. Fittingly, the band then bring out a number of new tracks from their 2017 release How Dare You, which are still received with a great deal of enthusiasm and certainly show an added level of depth to their songwriting.

For myself, a personal highlight of the evening comes when the band bring out the funk of ‘(Who The Hell Just) Call My Phone’, the track is bouncy, enjoyable and embodies all of the aspects which make Electric Six such a great band to watch live. This, combined with a seamless flow into ‘Danger! High Voltage’ almost makes it too much to bare and the room enters another flood of fantastic energetics.

Overall, an evening with Electric Six is a simply hilarious way to spend a Saturday night and the perfect way to bring a smile to any rock lover’s face. This band may have been going for nearly two decades, but they are still going strong and are more than capable of putting on one of the best rock shows Concorde 2 has seen in a while. There is definitely still a place for Electric Six in the world of rock’n’roll and I can’t wait to see what they bring with them next time they visit Brighton.

Ben Walker

Website: electricsix.com
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