This was Shake Some Acton no 143 at the Signature Brew in Haggerston, we missed Rage DC's opening set sadly, but were well in time for Stupidity who haven't played here since 2015 when they played at the sadly now closed Unicorn in Camden, on another night in London where I could have been at four of five gigs.
This is the first time I've seen the current line-up of Stupidity, that has been in place for a few years now, they showed they still had the same Garage rock energy opening with King Midas that had Erniz howling that he was on fire, while new boy Janne Vierth's guitar sizzled with intent. The lead track on the bands most recent Alternative Intelligence album A Monkey In A Suit (Is Still A Monkey) crushed home the point it was making about stupid bureaucrats and the evil they do. Stupid Like Me had a swaggering dark bassline from new girl Ulrika Wennstrom and a classic garage punk intensity.
Erniz laid it all bare for Carolina that had Tommy Boy's precise drumming ramming the terror they felt home. Liar Liar is a chant along bruiser that we need on a trigger button to play every time another politician tells a lie. The cost of living crisis was laid bare in Cheap Thrills, no one can afford anything else and are all hopped up on Cheap Pills and even cheaper thrills. Erniz heartbreak was clear on The Murder Of Love, but it was the passion of Janne's guitar that was a wonder to hear and see. Ain't Got Nothing is what happens after it all falls apart again, driven on by a full force beat from Tommy and Ulrika's forceful bass.
Erniz was in no doubt on Pagoda that it was time for you to get out of his place and life, like yesterday. If you ended up On The Run it was no more that you deserved. He's heard all your arguments and just says Yeah Yeah Yeah to everything you've got to say over one more classic garage rock riff. They played the bands next single that I think was Spread It all about staying around and not giving up. The closed by covering BBC One by Ming Tea and making it sound like a 60's garage rock original, rather than a film cash in, a great end to a really cool set.
After the break it was time for the return of The Cynz just over a year or so since their last visit, these New York garage punk legends opened with Cyndi Dawson telling us all that You Wreck Me that had plenty of attitude and Henry Seiz letting loose on guitar. After Cyndi welcomed us they blasted through Superfan making clear what they thought of over obsessive fans. My Evolution is a great tale and was pinned to the floor by Patrick Carpenter's drumming. Cyndi would rather all the girls were friendly to her, but well those Mean Girls just won't stop and this flew by.
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Cyndi then introduced Woman Child, that may be the bands new single, it was one of the highlights and had a dark edge to the lyrics. Cyndi sang one To My Love that had plenty of glam to it and Dave U. Hall's sweet backing vocals and bass. My Father's Gun is a very American tale of what happens when everyone has a gun. It was by now Heartbreak Time and no amount of shimmying and shaking by Cyndi will change that, no matter how electric she looked. They then showed how to cover the 13th Floor Elevators with a rip-roaring run through You're Gonna Miss Me Baby that had some of Henry's grittiest guitar.
Do What You Can seemed almost like a shopping list of the good and bad parts of the dating game. Cyndi had the Weight of The World on her shoulders and that's a hell of a weight currently, they even apologised for being American before singing it. They then closed with I Want Your Kiss that was every bit as seductive as the title suggests. They barely walked off before being persuaded they had time for one more song, leading us all in a sing along romp through I Saw Her Standing There that had a proper guitar rave up feel, making sure we were all smiling at the end of the show.
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