aaamusic | On 18, Jan 2012

London, 30th December

It’s New Years Eve in London, No it is not actually it’s ‘Not the New Years!’ the day before in Vauxhall and it’s time to spend a night with one of London’s best up-and-coming bands AlterRed. I arrive in Vauxhall just before 8.00 were the band are about to sound check at London’s top fetish club
Antichrist. I’m greeted at the door by co-promoter Missy and taken to the room where AlterRed will be playing tonight they have already started their sound check and are running through weird sounds and making sure the levels are ok, well everyone accept Vix who is sitting looking moody on the floor
near the stage, the reason for this is that she has already sound checked well if you call cutting the leads to her keyboard and forgetting to turn it on as a sound check. The Reason for this is that tonight we are going to be treated to a display of Mannequin dancers and she is going to be a human
statue. The sound check finishes at 8.45 and we go for a drink in the backstage area which is near enough just a curtain separating it from the main room. We talk about previous music projects and music we like and listen to and the rare D.U.S.T records that go for a pretty penny now on ebay, we also talk about what our Karaoke songs which Mikey admits his is ‘Wild Boys’ by Duran Duran. 9.45 and it’s time for Mikey to do his make-up and I go with Bass Player Jack and his wife to watch the dancers that are on before the band tonight. Well I say they are dancers they seem to be more like strippers but who needs strippers when most of the girls in the venue tonight have decided to only come in the knickers, I know it’s a fetish club but I didn’t know when it turned into a Anne Summers party but everyone seems to be having fun which is the main thing. A really nice looking girl in a hostess type uniform tapes us on the shoulder and offers us sweets from a tray so we take some and then realise that also on the tray are condoms and creepy crawleys so we grab a few, I got this plastic spider which is very fitting with our pockets full of goodies we notice the time which is now 11.00 so Jack decides to go and set up for tonight’s performance.11.15 Make Up is applied and the band are line-up near the stage and ready for a photo shoot we take the photos and then it’s 11.25 and time for the band to take the stage. Mark Red twists some knobs and the keyboards go into
action and the first chords of ‘Dollstown’ start with the Mannequins coming onto the stage in rhythmic motion. The venue fills up with a lot of people coming down just to see the band tonight and Mikey is on form moving round round the stage like he was born to be there and the new songs are getting
some new life to them and their show looks really impressive tonight being across between Cabaret and a scene from the film ‘Fifth Element’ everyone is having a good time and it’s ready for ‘Big Ben’ as they do the countdown into ‘New Years Eve’ 5,4,3,2,1 ‘Happy New Years Eve!!!!!!’ an odd idea that
kinda works and on my trip home I think a good idea as I didn’t have to wait five hours for a bus and I think back on my evening with AlterRed and think about how much I enjoyed the whole Experience.

Setlist
——-
Dollstown
Like April Fools
And we Disappear
Drg named God
Fleshbind
The Patient
NLTV

 

Daniel Cairns