Live Review : Kickin' Valentina + God Damn Smile + Sweet Electric @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on May 31st 2023

Sweet Electric are the new outfit from Massive frontman Brad Marr having only been together for six months or so, and as the lights go down and the floor toms kick in, the band hit the stage in a Technicolor explosion, it’s fascinating to see the direction that Brad has taken his new musical endeavour.  There’s a distinctly 70s glam vibe about Sweet Electric, with glitter, zebra print and lycra in abundance.  No longer fettered by the guitar duties he undertook as part of Massive, Brad is having the time of his life, careering from one side of the stage to the other with a wild abandon.  Resplendent in gold lycra and declaring “I feel as good as I look!” Brad is as charismatic and entertaining as ever, whether duck walking round guitarists, leaning out over the barrier or attacking a cowbell (if you’ve never witnessed a cowbell played in a windmill fashion a la Pete Townshend, it’s a sight to behold, let me tell you).  As you would expect their set is big on hard riffing, flamboyance and bombast and the perfect opener for the evening.  Their set is short but sweet and then, before we know it, like a 70s fever dream they’re gone, leaving us marvelling and shellshocked at the spectacle we just beheld. 

Second on tonight’s bill, God Damn Smile may not have Sweet Electric’s glam-inspired flash, but what they do have is a huge likeability factor, in no small part due to Gary Salt on vocals. An engaging frontman and natural raconteur, each song is introduced with an anecdote, whether it’s regaling the crowd with tales of playing too much air guitar or waxing lyrically about the legendary Tommy Vance in Radio Show, his presence and charm pull you firmly into the band’s orbit.  It’s this relatability in terms of both presentation and lyrical content that make God Damn Smile such a great live proposition.  They also are possessed of a strong sense of melody, delivering cool guitar lines with memorable hooks; couple that with quirky, and at times nostalgic, lyrics makes for a winning formula.  There is an honesty and authenticity to God Damn Smile that is hard to resist, songs like ‘5am’ describing the shenanigans of a notorious night out, or the joys of ‘Video Games’ (anyone who references the Spectrum and Commodore 64 gets major kudos in my book) are an out and out delight and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next. 

From the very first note, Kickin Valentina remind us in no uncertain terms, that rock n’ roll is supposed to be edgy, cool and dangerous.  In a world of bland, boring and often safe music, Kickin Valentina are a shot in the arm, an adrenaline-fuelled, glorious riot throwing us back to the halcyon days of sleazy rock and making us fall in love with this music all over again.   

Starting silhouetted with their backs to the crowd they launch into opener ‘On My Side’ with a conviction and energy that never lets up.  Vocalist D.K. Revelle is here to party and barely leaves his position, on, over or close to the barrier, challenging everyone in the crowd to get involved. Leather gloved hands punctuate every phrase and vocal line; D.K is electrifying, snarling, sneering but above all absolutely captivating, the consummate frontman, leading the band in a masterclass of just how vital, vibrant and life-affirming rock can (and should) be.   

Every great band needs a superb rhythm section and Chris Taylor and Jimmy Berdine are precisely that; Chris is a commanding figure, his muscular bass lines locked in tightly with Jimmy’s powerful and precise drums, providing the perfect framework for Heber Pampillon’s tasty riffing. To D.K.s’ left, Heber nails riff after riff, with the confidence of someone who knows just how cool they are and with the chops to back it up.  

But cool is nothing if you haven’t got the songs to back up the look and attitude, but Kickin Valentina have no worries on that score either. The rollicking ‘Sweat’ is next and couldn’t be more appropriate, as the temperature levels in the room creep ever higher, with ‘Freakshow’ maintaining that upward trajectory. Tonight, we also get a couple of new songs being played for the first time in this run of shows, in the form of ‘Takin a Ride’ and ‘Fireback’. ‘Fireback’ in particular goes off like a rocket, achieving the amazing feat of sending the energy levels up to an even more stratospheric level. If these tracks are representative of the forthcoming album, then this is something we should all be rightly looking forward to.  

D.K. tells us that it’s his 15th Wedding Anniversary today, so what better way to celebrate than with another shot of tequila (not the first or last of the night) and the mid-tempo, effervescent ‘Turns Me On’ from 2017’s “Imaginary Creatures” album.  By this point D.K has the crowd in the palm of his hands, and to add to the excitement, as we get towards the end of the set, Neil Hunter from Takeaway Thieves joins the fun on stage; there’s a rip-roaring cover of ‘Burning Love’ and just time for one final encore of ‘Rat Race’ (which puts me in mind of early Faster Pussycat, which can never be a bad thing) before Kickin Valentina triumphantly depart the stage leaving an exhausted but exhilarated crowd baying for more. 

On a Wednesday night in May, the Waterloo felt like the epicentre of down and dirty rock n roll debauchery, and those of us who were there to see it, left that night with a grin on our faces and an extra spring in our step, having borne witness to something rather special indeed… 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Kickin’ Valentina, God Damn Smile, Sweet Electric