SUPERSUCKERS + WITCHDOKTORS – THE PRINCE ALBERT, BRIGHTON 4.10.23
Brighton promoter An Alternative Gathering pulled off quite a coup last year, bringing American rock band Supersuckers to Brighton for two intimate shows at The Prince Albert. The band must have enjoyed the experience, as they are back again at the same venue, and needless to say, it’s sold out.
Supersuckers, previously styled as The Supersuckers, originally formed in Tucson in 1988, before relocating to Seattle, where they signed to Sub Pop, soon to be synonymous with that city’s grunge scene. They left in 1999 for a major deal that fell through, with subsequent releases on the band’s own Mid-Fi label. Their music is rock n’ roll in the hard rock sense, played with humour and a punky energy, with occasional forays into a country sound. Through various personnel changes they have released thirteen studio albums. Bassist and lead vocalist Eddie Spaghetti has been a constant presence, surviving a throat cancer diagnosis in 2015, and the current three-piece lineup has been in place since 2012. A compilation of their Sub Pop recordings was titled ‘How The Supersuckers Became The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World’, an epithet that seems to have stuck, and for good reason.
The Prince Albert is a popular music pub conveniently located near Brighton station, though that’s no help today as there’s a rail strike. The upstairs room fills quickly after doors open at 8pm, with quite a buzz of anticipation and plenty of familiar faces to say hello to. The general consensus is that we’re in for something special.
There may be a few contenders for the world title, but tonight’s support, WitchDoktors, would certainly get my vote for the greatest rock and roll band in the London area. Stalwarts of the alternative music scene since the 1990s, their milieu is the schlock horror and retro sci-fi of old comic books, soundtracked by killer tunes, often delivered as fast and furious punk’n’roll, with a bit of vibey twang for contrast.
The onstage look is predominantly bowling shirts and creepers, with lead mouthpiece ‘Planet’ Andy Last toting a Gretsch guitar with a beautifully sparkly silver finish. Lead guitarist Tony starts on a Les Paul Junior, but has a particularly tasty single-cutaway Reverend standing ready to go. House right is bassist Lee, his white Jazz bass contrasting with a black outfit topped off with hat and shades. Joe Colfar is behind the kit, a percussive powerhouse much in demand. Reggae is his speciality, and you may also have seen him recently playing with folk punks The Lagan. Here in his black and white bowling shirt, he thunders around the toms with astonishing speed and fluidity, bouncing up off his drum stool like a jack-in-the-box to showboat with his sticks or acknowledge the crowd with a salute.
The set opens at a blistering pace, as is customary, with the air-punching chantalong ‘No Pain No Gain’ and ‘Movie Star’, whose lyric is like a sprint along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ‘Jackhammer’ is as punchy as its title suggests, punctuated with nifty stops and a delicious bass run. Andy wields the fancy Gretsch like a rifle, aimed straight down the photographers’ lenses.
The singer’s corny between-song jokes elicit a mocking ‘shave and a haircut’ figure on guitar and kick drum from his bandmates, and we’re green-lit for the white knuckle ride of ‘New Set Of Wheels’. I remember ‘Spanner In The Works’ being a new song when I reviewed the band in 2021. It’s now “newish”, and due for inclusion on a forthcoming album. A quality piece, with offbeat rhythm guitar over a reggae lilt, it boasts a supremely catchy “push together” vocal motif, with the crowd enthusiastically providing a chanted “whooah” backing. I can’t wait for the new album to be released.
A ghostly guitar twang floats over the insistent shuffle of ‘Brothers’, and Joe gets busy pounding the toms on ‘Voodoo Eye’, the chanted refrain going round all four vocalists. ‘Before The War’ is another newer number, as yet unreleased, with a riff-led new wave feel that reminds me of bands like the Skids and The Members. The expansive “I love you” hook of ‘Neck Tattoo’ is sheer bliss, and it’s no surprise that the set closer is the righteous ‘Common Prayer (For A Working Man)’. I suspect I’ll be singing its chorus to myself at work tomorrow. As is the custom, Andy puts down his instrument and grabs a pair of sticks, joining Joe to double up on giving the drum kit a proper hammering. It looks and sounds great, and is a fine conclusion to a superb set. We’re all well and truly warmed up now, in eager anticipation of the main event.
WitchDoktors:
‘Planet’ Andy Last – vocals, guitar
Tony Major – guitar, vocals
Lee Page – bass, vocals
Joe Colfar – drums, vocals
WitchDoktors set:
‘No Pain No Gain’ (from ‘Voodoo Eye’ 2016)
‘Movie Star’ (from ‘$3 Hooker’ 2008)
‘Jackhammer’ (from ‘Voodoo Eye’ 2016)
‘New Set Of Wheels’ (from ‘Voodoo Eye’ 2016)
‘Spanner In The Works’ (unreleased)
‘Brothers’ (from ‘Brain Machine’ 1996)
‘Voodoo Eye’ (from ‘Voodoo Eye’ 2016)
‘Before The War’ (unreleased)
‘Neck Tattoo’ (from ‘Robots Rayguns Rock’n’Roll’ 2003)
‘Common Prayer (For A Working Man)’ (from ‘$3 Hooker’ 2008)
www.instagram.com/thewitchdoktors
After what seems like a fairly brief changeover, the stage is set and it’s time for Supersuckers. They exude gravitas, and look like a proper dirty rock band of seasoned performers. Bassist and lead vocalist Eddie Spaghetti sports a massive Cattleman-style cowboy hat and dark shades. His trademark Les Paul bass is slung low. Guitarist Metal Marty’s road-worn gold top Les Paul is slung even lower, and from the very first notes his performance is utterly mesmeric, with a piercing stare and spellbindingly adroit technique. Drummer Chris has a distinctive look with cascading locks, a pointy beard and thick-rimmed glasses.
We’re at full tilt from the get go, with the quick-fire vocal of ‘All Of The Time’ flanked by the most glorious lead riff, weaving snake-like up and down and fretboard. Marty has every rock guitar trick imaginable in his arsenal, and we get quite a few in the first number alone, with plectrum slides, hammer-ons, stabs and pushes all delivered with an insouciant flourish. The drumming is super-fast and super-tight, and Eddie’s voice is a warm and satisfying growl. We’re straight into ‘Ain’t Gonna Stop’, with a shouty mob chorus and some skittering drum breaks. Chris is giving the distinct impression that he could probably play triplet fills faster than human eyes or ears could detect, and Marty has an extensive repertoire of cool poses to accompany his wailing lead.
I’m rather taken with the sight of the front players lifting their instruments in time with the pushed accents of ‘Rock-n-Roll Records (Ain’t Selling This Year)’, which rattles along at a fair lick and has a proper earworm of a chorus. The genre in question seems to be a popular lyrical theme, continued through ‘The Evil Powers Of Rock N’Roll’, which unleashes flurries of implausibly fast fills and utilises a particularly nifty false ending.
Eddie compliments us on our “impeccable taste” for being here tonight. “This song goes out to us,” he quips. “As usual, we’re always in a state of perpetual exhaustion… but you would never know it, right?” The piece in question is ‘Roadworn And Weary’, with a pleasing pattern of descending chords leading to the hook. Marty gets as far up the neck as is reasonably possible to deliver the lead break. ‘Creepy Jackalope Eye’ has a grungy feel with a drawled chorus reminiscent of Nirvana, whilst the urgent ‘Get The Hell’ has a naggingly insistent “gotta run” vocal figure that rather randomly brings to mind Mungo Jerry’s ‘Alright Alright Alright’. There’s a repeated breakdown to scudding kick drum that at one point explodes into a superhuman fill that threatens to break the sound barrier.
Marty’s cool guitarist credentials are further consolidated by him chugging a can of beer whilst playing the lead part to ‘Dead Inside’ with one hand. It’s a well crafted song, the sort of thing you could imagine someone like Bryan Adams doing, though I doubt anyone else could match the gusto of this performance. The spatial roar of a huge plectrum slide grabs my attention in ‘Deceptive Expectations’, and I’m touched by the introduction to ‘Mudhead’, written way back in 1988 by “a stupid kid who only wanted to make up stupid rock ’n’ roll songs…. I’m still that guy.”
‘Ron’s Got The Cocaine’ has raw energy and rapid-fire lyrics, which contrast with the slightly more sedate ‘Sleepy Vampire’. We get punky again for ‘Mighty Joe Young’ from the debut album, with howling sustain and busy toms. Drummer Chris is sticking his huge tongue out during big hits on the playout.
I’m not sure whether the grungy ‘Rocket 69’ is a cover or not. The vocal motif on the chorus is broadly like the 1940s jazz number of the same name, though that’s where the similarity ends. Whatever it is, it’s a lot of fun, and this continues with the clapalong “Are you ready?” chant of ‘Rock Your Ass’.
Eddie pauses to introduce the band, and we get a brief mini-set of songs from Metal Marty’s solo album, released this year. For the first number, he wants a cheer every time he punches his fist in the air, and there’s an enthusiastic take-up. The boogie chug of ‘Idaho, Baby!’ appears to borrow the tune of ‘Rock and Roll Part 2’ for its chorus, along with the famous lead break.
With a thirteen album back catalogue to choose from, you’d think that throwing the song choices open to the audience would be a daunting prospect, but the band are unfazed and press on with the selection of ‘Non-Addictive Marijuana’ and ‘I Want The Drugs’, both from the 1990s. A steady-paced new number, appropriately called ‘I Tried To Write A Song’ is introduced as well.
“I’ve come to realise that what we do is not for everyone,” confides Eddie. “It’s for you people, people who have done their 10,000 hours of rock ’n’ roll music listening.” There’s roared approval, and much clapping and singing along to the anthemic ‘Pretty F*cked Up’. Marty leads over the kit so Chris can hit the guitar strings with a drumstick. ‘Born With A Tail’ is a suitably dramatic conclusion to the set, with plenty of big hits and headstocks thrust skyward. Marty plays the solo with the guitar behind his head, whilst firing off leg kicks in time with the accented pushes, and that’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. Eddie persuades the entire audience to flip their middle fingers in the air, and whips out a camera to photograph the spectacular result. How to finish? Eddie yells, “Give me twenty one!” and we get twenty one (count ‘em) whole band stabs and we’re done. The band members take a bow, and it’s all over.
What a night! This has been another triumph for promoter An Alternative Gathering, and a thoroughly enjoyable evening’s entertainment. So, are Supersuckers the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world? Right now, I think maybe they are.
Supersuckers:
Eddie Spaghetti – bass, lead vocals
‘Metal’ Marty Chandler – guitars, vocals
Chris von Streicher – drums, vocals
Supersuckers set:
‘All Of The Time’ (from ‘Suck It’ 2018)
‘Ain’t Gonna Stop’ (Until I Stop It)’ (from ‘Play That Rock N’ Roll’ 2020)
‘Rock-n-Roll Records (Ain’t Selling This Year)’ (from ‘Motherf*ckers Be Trippin’ 2003)
‘The Evil Powers Of Rock N’ Roll’ (from ‘The Evil Powers Of Rock N’ Roll’ 1999)
‘Roadworn And Weary’ (from ‘Must’ve Been High’ 1997)
‘Creepy Jackalope Eye’ (from ‘La Mano Cornuda’ 1994)
‘Get The Hell’ (from ‘Get The Hell’ 2014)
‘Dead Inside’ (from ‘Suck It’ 2018)
‘Deceptive Expectations’ (from ‘Play That Rock N’ Roll’ 2020)
‘Mudhead’ (from ‘La Mano Cornuda’ 1994)
‘Ron’s Got The Cocaine’ (from ‘The Smoke Of Hell’ 1992)
‘Sleepy Vampire’ (from ‘Motherf*ckers Be Trippin’ 2003)
‘Mighty Joe Young’ (from ‘The Smoke Of Hell’ 1992)
‘Rocket 69’ (unreleased)
‘Rock Your Ass’ (from ‘Motherf*ckers Be Trippin’ 2003)
‘Workin’ My Ass Off’ (Metal Marty cover)
‘Goddamn Divorce’ (Metal Marty cover)
‘Idaho, Baby!’ (Metal Marty cover)
‘Non-Addictive Marijuana’ (from ‘Must’ve Been High’ 1997)
‘I Want The Drugs’ (from ‘The Evil Powers Of Rock N’ Roll’ 1999)
‘I Tried To Write A Song’ (new, unreleased)
‘Pretty F*cked Up’ (from ‘Motherf*ckers Be Trippin’ 2003)
‘Born With A Tail’ (from ‘The Sacrilicious Sounds of The Supersuckers’ 1995)
