The Trick Noise Makers are a band you may have heard of. Back on the scene after a recent sabbatical, the trio of Louise Howlett (lead vocals, guitar), Alan Walshe (bass, vocals) and Greg Pugh (drums) have got back together for the first gig with a fourth member, Parsley, on keyboards.
Armed with Danelectros and a part-functioning Vox Continental that was swapped at the last minute for a less-than-vintage Yamaha synth, they took to the stage a little apprehensively. Not to worry though, whatever it takes to do the gig will do wether it's a bit of Dutch courage or a fake vox, there's no need to maintain an image for the sake of it, especially when you've got songs as good as the Tricksters have.
So, where were we? Ah yes, at The Fiddler's Elbow last Saturday, a live venue type of pub in Camden, London where near enough any band can secure a gig which is great for a lot of up'n'coming new bands but also unfortunate as there's a lot of dross around. Needless to say I never bothered sticking around to watch those thrash metallers who proceeded to bore me shitless during their sound check. There's only ever going to be one Megadeth anyway.
The Noise Makers kicked off with a stonking version of 'Feel Good Words' (the promo of which can be seen below) and then went on to do 'Time Will Tell' followed by 'Dirty Hands'. Here's a band that really deserve a larger audience for their "spikey, angular and angsty punk pop garage sound" as they themselves describe it.
Unfortunately for them, the sound at The Fiddler's was less than flattering. If you didn't know the songs it may have been a tough gig to listen to as Louise's vocals were occasionally lost amongst the sonic frequencies of the rhythm and bass guitars. It's a situation that certainly doesn't do them any justice, the in-house sound engineer seemed indifferent to this problem as the band did "Pick Me Up, Put Me Down" - a superb song with a large dollop of Monochrome Set influence (not a bad thing).
They managed to fit twelve songs into an energetic set, energetic enough for Greg to shift his cold I would have thought. They're a band worth seeing solely on the strength of their songs and I reckon they'll get better as a live act once they get a decent sound. Their next gig is at Islington's Hope & Anchor on Friday 11th July 2008, and you really ought to go and show your support for a good, honest, no nonsense band like The Trick Noise Makers.
