Guided By Voices
The Charlotte, Leicester, UK, 28.09.03

So even though there's hardly anyone here, it's just because it's a Sunday, right? Right. I've never seen Guided By Voices before, and here I am surrounded by a die-hard group of male fans from eighteen to sixty?!

There must be something magical about the band that is about the band that's about to appear.. And I'm right, Ive never seen a man absorb eight bottles of Heineken and remain standing and singing and high-kicking (oddly enough) for a two hour solid set. So when Guided by Voices perform - they really perform. The leading man is of course vocalist and songwriter Bob Pollard AKA Drunk. There have been many line-ups for this traditional US Rock outfit and yet they still manage to churn ot lengthy encores buckets of albums and extensive European and US tours.

Older than I'd imagined I must admit but youthfully vocally talented Bob has created his own reputation not through corporate label butt kissing but through this booze fuelled hard work and dedication. This gig is a real treat, the further the set progressed the stronger and more powerful it became; demonstrative of real Us pop - rock capability without being interfered with by those pesky "Album Producers" Bob spits out at in disgust; Then he rallies the crowd further with stories and testosterone filled self - admiration.

The fans really don' t mind though as long as this band can play practically everyone song they've written ("Mascara Snakes" to Buffy soundtrack favourite "Teenage FBI") and a few others ("Under My Wheels" [yep, GbV doing an Alice Coooper cover - editor's note] for example!) flawlessly and fantastically.

Thank-You GBV for drinking your entire rider and not passing out - that's rock.

Copyright © 2003 Rebecca