TOKYO TABOO + YUR MUM + POLLYPIKPOCKETZ + HEALTHY JUNKIES – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 6.3.22
Those fine folks at Angel Promotions have done it again. Not content with the original ‘Lips Can Kill’ tour that graced venues across the country in 2019 – they’ve only gone and done it again. Welcome to ‘Lips Can Kill 2’!
Again, we are at the excellent Prince Albert nestled just below Brighton Station for a four-pronged assault of the female kind. That’s four female-fronted headline bands all playing on the same night and all for the price of a couple of beers. It can’t be bad.
First, to grace the stage are the wild and kicking Healthy Junkies with an enjoyable eight-song set. They are a female fronted New wave punk grunge band, who are DIY and hungry with it! Lead punkster Nina Courson is glamorous and yet a rebel. She ran away from home when she was fourteen. In the seedy underworld of Paris, Nina found her true musical muse in David Bowie’s music, she then moved to London in 2007 to pursue her own rock n roll rite of passage. Completing the multinational Healthy Junkies quartet are Phil Honey Jones on guitar, Oleg Liubchivschi (Ukrainian) on bass and Raph Bouchara (French) on drums.
Opening with the rocking ‘This Is Not A Suicide’ and then proceeding through a tight collection of tunes with highlights for me, the fiery ‘No Control’ and ‘Juliet’s Call’ both from the cracking ‘Delirious Dream’ album from 2018.
Here’s a band who have both the looks and the lifestyle to go with their elemental rock persona. Healthy Junkies retain a tuneful core to songs that are enveloped in drop-dead guitar riffs and a solid but wild rhythm section.
Tonight the crowd are undoubtedly appreciative as the front few rows bounce their way through every number. Healthy Junkies are always a joy to catch live, and there’s great chemistry between frontwoman Nina Courson and guitarist Phil Honey Jones.
Want to see the Healthy Junkies in Brighton? Then they will be returning to The Prince Albert on 10th April when they will be supporting SpizzEnergi – Grab your tickets HERE.
They clearly love Brighton so much as they will be returning to our lovely city a week later on 17th April when they will be headlining a Sunday Rock Matinee show at The Prince Albert – Grab your tickets HERE.
Healthy Junkies setlist:
‘This Is Not A Suicide’
‘Runaway Devil’
‘I Don’t Give A Damn’
‘No Control’
‘Juliette’s Call’
‘The Sound Of My Guitar’
‘Theft’
‘Lion In A Circus’
Further details on Healthy Junkies can be located HERE and HERE.
Next up it was the turn of PollyPikPocketz who formed in London back in 2014. These guys offer up dirty grunge with a punk edge, and no shortage of energy! They are a vibrant and colourful mixture of style, culture, sex, musical influence and facial hair all puked into one. Those responsible for this are vocalist Myura Amara, Mat Kiki, Frog and Shane Howard.
The amazing Myura always looks fantastic and tonight she’s wearing ‘A Clockwork Orange’ style bowler hat and what could be a short, mid-length but oversized airline or naval jacket, but whatever it is, she looks the business.
Myura is backed up by the instantly recognisable Frog on bass and Mat Kiki on guitar, with sticks man Shane Howard keeping the beat at the back. This band doesn’t just stop at looks as they deliver a top set of tracks with the best of the night culled from their debut ‘’Ang On A Minute’, with the fast-paced ‘Handz Off Muthaf**ka’ and the delirious ‘Soul Sukka’, which brings to mind the likes of Gaye Bykers On Acid. Pollypikpocketz combines rock guitar with punk sensibilities to create something unique and a band that won’t be easily pigeonholed.
With a powerhouse of noise emanating from a very tiny person, Pollypikpocketz left us mulling over whether this was what the B52’s would have sounded like if they had decided to be a Ramones tribute band…
PollyPikPocketz setlist:
‘Handz Off Muthaf**ka’
‘Soul Sukka’
‘Sick To The Core’
‘On Your Way Out’
‘Keyboard Warrior’
‘FUQU’
‘Waving The World Goodbye’
Further details on Pollypikpocketz can be located HERE and HERE.
Yur Mum take to The Prince Albert stage next and they are London duo, Anelise on bass and vocals and Fabio on drums and they have arrived here in the UK by way of Brazil.
They have been attacking concert punters hearing with their delicious blend of punk edged hard rock since 2016. They have been making a name for themselves up and down the country. They’ve played with the likes of Vice Squad, Maid Of Ace, Kirk Brandon, and Hands Off Gretel, to name but a few, all the while honing their craft.
Back in 2018 they released their debut album ‘Road Rage’, which was followed by extensive international tour dates of the USA, Brazil, France, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Czechia and not surprisingly here in the UK. In 2019, they released ‘Ellipsis’, an EP which includes the single ‘Sweatshop’, which was featured by Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music. They finished the last decade with over 200 performances around the world, supporting and meeting bands they love, whilst getting played on radios all over the globe.
Last year they dropped the ‘Tropical Fuzz’ LP, which was their first full release as a duo. Tonight they power through their set, and they are certainly taking no prisoners. They were naturally leaning heavily on their latest album ‘Tropical Fuzz’ with ‘Kiss And Tell’, ‘Dig Deep’ and ‘Tropical Fuzz’. They were thoroughly entertaining all of the Prince Albert punters.
Still, they leave the best to last with the excellent double-barrelled hit of ‘Happy Mantra’ and the explosive ‘Sweatshop’, both huge crowd favourites and rightly so. Anelise complained that her voice was going due to the ongoing tour, but to me, she sounded as good as ever, especially on the beautiful ‘Black Rainbow’ and a definite highpoint of the show.
Yur Mur setlist:
‘Kiss And Tell’
‘Dig Deep’
‘Tropical Fuzz’
‘Black Rainbow’
‘Happy Mantra’
‘Sweatshop’
‘New Song’
‘Je Ne Sais Pas’
Further details on Yur Mum can be located HERE and HERE.
The final headliners for tonight are the one and only Tokyo Taboo with the incredible Dolly Daggerz. The act is composed of a feisty and ferocious pair of Londoners, namely Mickey Danger and the aforementioned Dolly Daggerz. As a live unit, the duo expand into a quartet with the assistance of two lads on bass and drums.
Their debut album, ‘6th Street Psychosis’, brought them acclaim from the likes of Radio X’s John Kennedy, BBC Radio 1, Clash and Punktastic. These riotous rockers have built quite a reputation for their spectacular, character driven, and often shocking vibrant live performances. Tonight is no exception.
Dolly dazzles the crowd with her stunning voice and also her aerodynamic skills and pole dancing routines and thus combines the two, which is a memorable and impressive sight. It’s a show that must be seen.
Dolly is pure sass dressed in incredibly high heeled platform boots with at least 9″ heels, maybe more, and she may struggle to walk around the stage at times, but once on the pole, it’s another matter. Dolly spins, turns and flips her body into the most extraordinary contortions whilst all the time managing to sing.
Sometimes you can overlook what an incredible arsenal of songs Tokyo Taboo have due to the stage show but ‘Make It Out Alive’, ‘N.A.R.C.I.S.M.’ and ‘Self Sabotage’ and all hardcore rockers with Dolly’s soaring vocals backed by husband Mickey Danger’s deft guitar playing skills and a backbeat of bass and drums.
The highlight of the night comes in the way of the classic ‘Whiskey‘, a song I never tire of hearing, and this evening it sounds as good as ever and still manages to get the hairs on the back of my neck to rise. If you’ve not yet seen Tokyo Taboo, check out their dates and get down to a show you will not be disappointed.
Tokyo Taboo setlist:
‘Make It Out Alive’
‘Emotional Suicide’
‘Papercut’
‘Self Sabotage’
‘Whiskey’
‘Drowning’
‘Walls’
‘N.A.R.C.I.S.M’
‘Leech’
‘Pussy Power’
‘No Pleasure Only Pain’
Further details on Tokyo Taboo can be located HERE and HERE.
This evening all four bands have given their all to the assembled crowd, and it’s been a treat to witness the return of ‘Lips Can Kill’ to Brighton. Roll on next year for ‘Lips Can Kill 3’?
