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Rattle Your Cage!!
Live Reviews '10 - 13

The Philistines.
The Railway Hotel, Southend
Saturday 27th July 2013

For this special one off show the band featured Clem Burke on drums. They are playing as a trio as guitarist James Stevenson has just joined up with The Cult on their world tour. Tonight is a 200 capacity sold out show. I get invited to the soundcheck at 6.30pm and is great to see the band run through four songs. It is a lot louder when there is no proper crowd!

For their main set the band play a brilliant 80 minutes set of uptempo rock 'n' roll. Pretty amazing how Clem Burke has learnt all their songs after just a couple of days rehearsals. Some of the songs seem a bit faster than usual due to Clem's enthusiastic drumming style. A faster version of Yeah Right! really went down well with the crowd dancing along. Jim Lowe on bass gives knowing smiles of admiration of his rhythm partner. A tanned Glen worked the crowd well. So many cracking rockin' songs one after the other with the usual mix of solo material, Sex Pistols, Rich Kids and some cover versions. A corker of a gig.

Set List: Somewhere Somehow / A Different World / Burning Sounds / Hard Work / God Save The Queen / Ambition / Ghosts Of Princes In Towers / Idiot / Dead End Street / White Knuckle Ride / Steppin' Stone / On Something / Yeah Right! / Born Running / Rattle Your Cage / Pretty Vacant. Encore: Montague Terrace(In Blue) / All Or Nothing.

Review by Ray Morrissey (28th July 2013)


International Swingers.
The Lexington, 96 Pentonville Road, Islington, London N1.
Friday 19th July 2013.

Up first we have The Rebelles who are three female singers who include Ian Hunters daughter Traci and a backing band. Some nice harmonies in their 30 minute set of cover versions, with nice takes on gems like Pretty Vacant, 20th Century Boy, Should I Stay Or Should I Go and Teenage Kicks.

After tours in Australia and North America this is the first European Show by The International Swingers whose members include Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, James Stevenson and Gary Twinn (Supernaut/Twent Flight Rockers). Tonight is an invite only show for competition winners and guests of the band. On stage for a full 90 minutes the show was a great mix of their own new songs as well as classics from their old bands plus other covers. Glen looks to be really enjoying it. Pretty amazing to see Clem Burke up nice and close and you can see why he is called 'The American Keith Moon' as pretty much every song finishes on some wild drumming. He also talks a lot more on stage than when he plays with Blondie.

The band all look good for their age and still have that 'young at heart' rock 'n' roll desire to put on a good show. Gary took over most of the vocals. A great little club show that rocked. Hopefully on the cards is a full UK tour at some stage in the future.

Set List: Out of Control (Twenty Flight Rockers) / Hanging on the Telephone / Stepping Stone / FBI (I. Swingers song) / Sweet Sweet Love (I. Swingers song) / Honey’s Room (I.Swingers song) / Burning Sounds (Glen vocals) / Live Wire(I. Swingers song) / What I Like About You (Clem vocals) / All the Young Dudes (Traci Hunter on BVs) / You Turn My Head (I. Swingers song) / On Something (Glen’s classic sung by Gary) / Gun Control (I. Swingers song)
Encore: Call Me / Pretty Vacant / C’mon Everybody / No Fun. For the last two songs they were joined by original Blondie member Frank Infante.

Review by Ray Morrissey (20th July 2013)


Glen Solo Gig. Blue Shell, Cologne/Germany
Monday 15th April 2013.

Set List: Somewhere Somehow / A Different World / Burning Sounds / God Save The Queen / Hard Work / Ambition / Ghosts Of Princes In Towers / Hey Mister / Dead End Street / Montague Terrace (In Blue) / Stepping Stone / Yeah Right / Nowheresville / On Something / Born Running / Pretty Vacant. Encore: Debris / Story Of Your Life / All Or Nothing.

The show took place at the Blue Shell club (famous punk/new wave club), which has a capacity of about 200-300. I would say there were about a 100 people at Glen's show. There was zero promotion for the gig in Cologne. If it hadn't been listed on www.sex-pistols.net, I would have missed it.

Doors opened at 8PM, Glen did a 15 mins soundcheck starting at 8:30. First a faulty guitar lead had to replaced then he did two songs and constantly asked for the volume of his guitar to be turned up on his onstage monitors which was quite funny (German sound guy: "But it's already VERY LOUD!"). Finally he checked his spare guitar and told the German sound guy to "turn up the volume at least double, it's a very quiet guitar". He later needed the spare because he busted a string on Story Of Your Life ("Oh fuck!").

After the soundcheck Glen asked the club's manager how long they wanted him to play. The manager told him it was up to him, to which he replied "What about an hour and a bit?". Then he retreated to the backstage area. The show started at 21:40. Glen wore a short, tight black leather jacket, which he took off after a few songs, a red T-shirt with black sleeves, emblazoned with "Too fast to live/Too young to die" and skull and bones, black jeans, black shoes.

He played a high energy show and succeeded in engaging the crowd in some interaction. Apart from the obvious highlights, I really liked his version of Iggy Pop's Ambition and also Montague Terrace. Before Ambition Glen mentioned coming to Germany for the first time with Iggy Pop, but he said he'd been to Munich airport before on his way to a skiing holiday in Austria.

Strong show, 80 mins long.

Review by Andreas Volkert.


Glen Solo Gig. The Islington, London
Friday 8th March 2013.

A new venue which opened a few months ago for live music after a refurbishment; located around the corner from the Islington Academy.

Signed ticket

It is packed and hot and sweaty here tonight. Glen and guitar play for 80 minutes with the usual brilliant mix of solo material, Sex Pistols, Rich Kids and cover versions, plus a couple of surprises thrown in, with rarely played songs including Mugs Game and covers of Ray Davies' Dead End Street and Scott Walker's Montague Terrace (In Blue).

Glen got the very vocal crowd to sing along and his warm stage banter went down a treat. An excellent little in-yer-face up close club gig.

Full set list played: Somewhere Somehow, A Different World, Burning Sounds, Hard Work, God Save The Queen, Ambition, Dead End Street, Story Of Your Life, Mugs Game, Montague Terrace (In Blue), (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone, Ghosts Of Princes In Towers, On Something, Yeah Right, Born Running, Pretty Vacant. Encores: Debris, All Or Nothing.

Review by Ray Morrissey (10th March 2013)
Ticket submitted by Keith Ruel


King Mob. 229 Great Portland Street, London
Thursday 17th November 2011.

Up first we have Bermondsey Joyriders who play a full hour of good dirty blues rock 'n' roll with lots of bottleneck guitar. Singer Gary Lammin has some really good lyrics.

This was the first ever London show by King Mob. King Mob feature Sex Pistol bassist Glen Matlock and Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers. Glen and Martin are joined by singer Stephen Parsons, and guitarists Chris Spedding (the legend that is) and Sixteen. It is great to see these friends all on the same stage as they have known each other for 35 odd years. Their influences are as wide ranging as Duke Ellington and Jimmy Page. They played tracks from their debut album "Force 9" that came out a month ago. It got a very positive 8 out 10 review in Classic Rock. There is a definite “English” feel to the rhythm section; pounding drums and solid bass lines are overlaid with a Nashville Tennessee style guitar. Couple this with Stephen’s vocals, and you end up with a band I don’t think you can pigeon hole. The only way I can describe them is a beat-combo who kick ass with hints of rockabilly. China Waters featured some great drumming from Martin Chambers and for King Mob Chris Spedding again unleashed some great guitar riffs. Encore was Who's Chasing Who. They were on for around an hour. A good gig.

Review by Ray Morrissey (18th November 2011)


Glen Matlock & The Philistines. 100 Club, London.
Thursday 16th June 2011.
Hey Mister Launch Night.

The weather tonight was cold, rainy and horrible, but by the time Glen and the Philistines came onstage, the 100 Club was busy and very hot.

There was no intro music, just straight on, "Hi there, we're the Philistines and this is Born Running". The sound was great, very tight and punchy straight from the opening track of the latest album and tonight's set opener. This was to set the mood of the night - very quickly moving from song to song, keeping the tempo up and adding real momentum. The group went straight into the album's closer 'Somewhere Somehow', the backing vocals sounding absolutely fantastic with Elizabeth, Tracey and Maggie dancing in time to the music.

Next up was 'Timebomb', a very catchy track that Glen co-wrote with Patti Palladin. Glen instructs the crowd to join in with 'Hard Work', with bassist Jim leading the call and response chorus whilst bouncing around and working up a sweat. Next is 'Get What We Get' which is quickly followed by 'Idiot' from the 'Open Mind' album, dedicated to a friend from Camden.

Then came the reason for tonight's gig. 'Hey Mister' is one of the strongest songs of Glen's career. The pacing, vocals and soaring guitar lines making for a very impressive piece of work, and is available on iTunes as a single. 'Stepping Stone' has the crowd singing the chorus along with the band, and the we get another standout track from the new album in 'Nowheresville'. On this, as with many other times during the night, James pulls cool shapes during the lead guitar solos. This prompts half a dozen cameras at the front to be trained on him, but as a seasoned pro he remains unaffected.

'Yeah Right' gets the crowd shouting back the title and then we're treated to 'White Knuckle Ride', a first for the new line-up, and the anthemic 'On Something'. The set then closes with the favourite 'Rattle Your Cage'. Insistence from the crowd for more is rewarded by an encore. 'Rock Chick' is dedicated to all the girls, and they finish with 'Pretty Vacant', Javier's beefy drumming all night coming to a climax now.

The 75 minute show flew by. This was probably the best performance I've seen. The band have really gelled and clearly love playing. Hopefully another London show will be announced soon, as this was a superb night.  

Review by Simon Leppington (18th June 2011)


Glen Matlock & The Philistines. The Firestation, Windsor.
Saturday 26th March 2011.

A new venue for me that is putting on more and more live events - a great space with the stage at the right level. Glen & The Philistines are joined by Tracie Hunter, Maggi Ronson and Elizabeth Westwood on backing vocals.

Glen’s Born Running album has been out for six months now and the ten tracks he plays from it tonight are still as punchy as when they first started playing them.

We also get Rich Kids anthem Burning Sounds as well as God Save The Queen (dedicated to "that lot that live across the road in the castle") and Pretty Vacant, which can only be described as lethal. A few gems from earlier albums were also played, including the main set closer Rattle Your Cage with more stellar guitar riffs from James Stevenson.

The band were totally rocking all through the 85 minute set. Windsor as a town is a bit sleepy but this band are anything but. They are a great live rock ‘n’ roll band playing a great little venue, and you can’t ask for much more than that.

Set List: Born Running / Somewhere Somehow / Timebomb / Hard Work / T-R-O-U-B-L-E / Burning Sounds / God Save The Queen / Get What We Get / Idiot / Hey Mister / Nowheresville / Stepping Stone / Yeah Right / Way To Go / Rock Chick / On Something / Rattle Your Cage / Pretty Vacant.

Review by Ray Morrissey (27th March 2011)


Glen Matlock & The Philistines. King Tut's, Glasgow.
Saturday 19th March 2011.

Glen Matlock & The Philistines. King Tut's, GlasgowSet List: Born Running / Somewhere Somehow / Timebomb / Hard Work / T-R-O-U-B-L-E / Burning Sounds / Idiot / Stepping Stone / Hey Mister / Yeah Right / God Save The Queen / Way To Go / Rock Chick / On Something / Rattle Your Cage / Pretty Vacant.

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow is a fantastic venue. The downstairs bit is a pub while upstairs is where the venue is. I arrived just shortly before the first support band began their set, grabbed a pint and found a nice place from where to enjoy the show. I must say the first support band, Tragic City Thieves were FANTASTIC! I really enjoyed their set. Definitely the most exciting young band I've seen for MANY years. Probably since the Libertines a decade ago. I am afraid I cannot say the same for Punk Jock, the second support band who, despite having a large contingent in the crowd, came across as much too gimmicky and cabaret for my tastes. They played such songs as The Clash's Complete Control, Swords of a Thousand Men by Tenpole Tudor and Neat Neat Neat by the Damned as well as a Stiff Little Fingers song that I was unfamiliar with. They did throw in one or two of their own numbers but to be honest, they didn't even stand out against the poor cover versions.

Between Punk Jock and The Philistines there was a lot of assemling and dis-assembling of equipment. I noticed the Sex Pistols Experience guitarist was there tonight, in the capacity of roadie! (Once home I actually researched this just in case it was actually just someone who looked like him, so that I wouldn't make a twat of myself in the review by claiming that it was him!) I read online that he's actually been drumming with the band, but tonight it was a much younger lad on the drums. (Javier Weyler, after a little research!)

Anyway, Glen & the band appeared on stage about 15 minutes later than the planned time of 10:30pm and immediately launched into a fantastic rendition of Born Running, followed by Somewhere Somehow which itself was followed by Timebomb! Can you think of a better way to start a show than with 3 catchy, instantly accessible songs such as those? Fucking amazing! A little aside here; I noticed that at the back of the hall there was a guy filming the performance with a pretty decent looking camcorder! Wonder if this footage will show up anywhere? In my opinion Hard Work which followed sort of loosened the pace a little. I don't think it's as strong as the newer material.

Glen seems to be maturing with age as a songwriter and I would have liked to see a few more of the Born Running tracks in the setlist tonight. Old Rich Kids standard Burning Sounds received a massive recognition from the crowd showing just how many old Rick Kids fans were in the house tonight. Idiot - what a song! This one really got the crowd singing along. Probably the highlight of the night for me along with new song Hey Mister. Hey Mister is actually a very slow paced song and as soon as it began I though; "Uh oh, this is where he loses the audience!" but the opposite actually happened. The song inspired a massive sing along! Like I said, this along with Idiot, were my favourites of the evening. Next up was God Save The Queen which Glen dedicated to; ".. all the people who came to see the Pistols at the S.E.C.C.C.C.C.C - what's the place called again?" It was a good enough version but I actually would have preferred another of the solo tracks instead. Then again, what can be better than hearing one of the greatest ever songs being played by an original Pistol? Magic!!!

Rock Chick was next dedicated to all the sexy Rock Chicks in the crowd, one of whom Glen was seemingly flirting with, despite the fact that she was standing next to her 6 foot 3 husband. Surely a nice feeling to have security either side of the stage! On Something - what a song! As Glen explained; "This song is about being on drugs, and when you're not on drugs wishing you still fucking were because life can be hard!" Such a catchy guitar line and an irresistable chorus. Rattle Your Cage ended the main set and as an encore we get... Pretty Vacant. Even Glen said; "I wonder what it could be..." before launching into that legendary riff which he composed all those decades ago. A fantastic version which had everybody dancing along (some pogo-ing!) In fact, during Pretty Vacant Glen noticed that one of the security blokes was singing along and insisted that the other security guy do likewise, which he refused. Glen then refused to stop going over the riff over and over again until the guy joined in; "I can play this all fucking night mate, so join in!" - the guy eventually joined in after a few minutes of crowd encouragement and then the band soon after ended the song. Then it was all over. Performance time just under 75 minutes.

Glen thanked us all for coming and left the stage. Because the gig had begun much later than planned I had to then run like a bastard to try and catch the last train home. I made it with literally 1 MINUTE to spare! Anyway, great night, great gig and thank you to Glen & The Philistines! Can't wait for the next time!

Review by Mick C (20th March 2011)


The Philistines. The Bowery, London.
Thursday 10th February, 2011.

It’s a full house for The Philistines’ first London show of 2011. The Bowery is a newish venue, on the borders of Soho and Holborn, with a hip bar and a cool venue downstairs. By the time the band take the stage it’s getting pretty hot and expectations are high. Without much ado, the band quickly launch into the title track of the new album, Born Running. The sound is good. Very upfront, loud and tight with the band only inches from the packed out front row. Next up is Somewhere Somehow, the backing vocals sounding great with Tracie and Elizabeth on stage right. After dedicating Timebomb to the best dressed punter in the house, Glen gets the crowd to help out on Hard Work. Another gem from the album follows – T.R.O.U.B.L.E. , its slower pacing and great lyrics working really well in these surroundings.

Get What We Get and the ever popular Idiot, complete with the audience singing along, are followed by a new track; Hey Mister was debuted last week in Wales and gets a fabulous reaction. Glen’s vocals sound better than ever – assured and relaxed, and the song gets a well deserved “thumbs-up” from the crowd. After a tune-up we get Nowheresville, Yeah Right (with audience participation) and Way To Go in quick succession. There’s barely time to catch breath before Glen dedicates the fantastic Rock Chick to a few members of the audience to their delight.

The set ends with On Something, a great song from the previous album and a real anthem. Then its one from the old school – Rattle Your Cage finishes a cracking set. Of course the crowd aren’t going to settle for that. Reacting to the cheering, we get Burning Sounds (fantastic) and finally Stepping Stone. The band were on fire tonight. They sounded great and looked like they were having an equally great time on stage. Fabulous.

Review by Simon Leppington (12th February 2011)


Fopp Record Store, Covent Garden, London WC2.
20th September 2010. 6pm.

Free entry for an all acoustic set and signing session on the launch day for Born Running. Fopp is one of those rare things; a proper music store that holds free gigs in their basement once a month.

Glen has released his new album on the same day - 20th September - I saw him play with the Sex Pistols at the legendary 100 Club Punk Festival in 1976.

He looked tanned and well for his seven song 30 minutes set that focused on the new album. He got the crowd to sing along with every song by telling them which bit he wanted them to sing. It was a really enjoyable up close session. Some songs had been heard live before, but for some this was their very first live airing. The full set list was Somewhere Somehow, Timebomb, Hard Work, Nowheresville, Something Tells Me, Yeah Right, and the single Born Running.

The 100 Club gig on Tuesday 5th October is a must see gig with the full band performing the songs. Afterwards most of the crowd bought the album and Glen signed it at the table at the back of the room.

Review by Ray Morrissey (21st September 2010)


The Faces 11th August 2010. The British Music Experience Soundstage Bubble at The 02 Arena Complex, London.

First full show for around 35 years for this legendary outfit who now comprise of originals Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan along with new boys Glen Matlock and Mick Hucknall. Only 400 people here at this small warm up gig for this Friday's Goodward Festival show.

Before the show started there was a 35 minutes Q & A session for the first 100 through the door which was good fun. The Faces played for 70 minutes and it was a great set. Lots of their old songs along with a couple of cover versions they did back in the day. Glen Matlock is loving every minute as he is playing in his all time fave band.

Mick Hucknall is not an obvious choice as singer but he really has got an amazing soul voice. Ronnie Wood on top form with his guitar licks and Ian McLagan's keyboards giving it that great blues rock boogie Faces sound. Both the Q & A and the gig were filmed so will be interesting to see when and where that comes out.

Set was Miss Judys Farm, Had Me A Real Good Time, Too Bad, Ooh La La, I Wish It Would Rain, Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney cover), Flying, Cindy Incidentally, I'm Losing You, I'd Rather Go Blind (Etta James cover), and an encore of Pool Hall Richard and Stay With Me.

Review by Ray Morrissey (12th August 2010)


The Silver Machine live at The 1234 Festival in Shoreditch Park, East London.
24th July 2010

Around 8000 indie kids were here at this hip festival. The good thing about smaller festivals is you can get nearer the stage so I am front row for The Silver Machine's set. The Silver Machine are a one-off band featuring Glen Matlock, Bobby Gillespie, Zak Starkey and a couple of other members of Primal Scream, playing a 50 minutes set of their fave garage rock 'n' roll numbers from the likes of The Creation, MC5, Flaming Groovies, Troggs etc.

Bobby’s distinctive vocals along with great bass playing and backing vocals from Glen, and some great rock 'n' roll guitar riffs meant it went down really well with the crowd. The 11 song set was How Does It Feel?, Are You Gonna Be There?, Teenage Head, Psychotic Reaction, I Wish You Would, I Want You, Fire Of Love, Making Time, I Can Only Give You Everything, Sister Ann, and Action Woman.

Review by Ray Morrissey (25th July 2010)


Glen Matlock live at Buxton Opera House (support to Buzzcocks)
15th February 2010

Glen Buxton 15 Feb 2010The splendour that is the Buxton Opera House seems at odds with the concept of punk rock. This all seater historic hall will have seen many different performances throughout its life, covering acts we could barely imagine in 2010.  For that reason alone, it’s only right that Glen and the Buzzcocks should take the stage here.

Glen’s set began at 7.30PM, worryingly early you would think, but this is a venue out of time where, paradoxically, the audience are in their seats on time. Arriving fashionably late does not enter the equation. 

And so, taking to the stage in front of a packed, noisy, and above all, appreciative crowd, Glen began his set with Somewhere Somehow.  Taken from his forthcoming album, the punchy melody is instantly memorable and received enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Stalwart gem A Different World carried the positivity forward. This gave Glen the opportunity to pause and reflect briefly on Steve New’s current ill heath in his introduction to Burning Sounds. This song is as much a part of Glen’s DNA as any Pistols standard – you can’t imagine a Glen show without it. 

With the Opera House crowd clearly on board, Glen went for some audience participation on the next couple of songs. God Save The Queen was last performed here about 5 years ago by Dead Men Walking. Glen asked if anyone was there that night – some were.  Recalling the rockabilly slant Slim Jim Phantom gave to the song, he got the audience to clap a rock & roll beat before starting the song in time with the crowd. The song’s always a hit, of course, but so was newbie Yeah Right which followed. This time the audience were drilled in advance on the chorus by Glen, making an unfamiliar song suddenly seem familiar.

Next was the bluesy moment of the set. Some wag shouted for Bodies, but Glen gave them Ambition, another cornerstone from his catalogue. Listen as he hits those notes at the song’s climax. How does he do that? The outstanding On Something – without doubt one of his best ever tunes – was tonight dedicated, tongue in cheek, to Steve Diggle! Enough said. For those not familiar with the origins of Ghosts Of Princes In Towers, Glen gave a brief resume of the Rich Kids growing their hair during the punk v teds period, leading to a description of them in the music press which became the song title.

Stepping Stone by Glen’s “favourite boy band” was a sure fire crowd pleaser as the set approached the home straight. Born Running, the title track from Glen’s aforementioned new album, is another Matlock masterpiece, combining toughness with melody. Before the show Glen asked if I had any requests and this was my first choice. It was therefore extra special for me personally when Glen played it “for Phil.” Thank you, sir.

Pretty Vacant closed the 45 minute set with an audience adrenaline rush. And they were quite an audience.  I was not sure what to expect at this most ornate of venues, but it was quite a night, and one hell of a crowd. Hat’s off to Buxton, they gave Glen terrific support and respect. In return Glen left them lifted and galvanised for the Buzzcocks.

Review by Phil Singleton (16th February 2010)

Following my review above, I received an email from Cliffo (pictured left):
" Hi Phil, great site. Me and my mate Fongy (below right) got in to see Glen after the show to have our picture taken with him. He was a real star and did not mind one bit. I was like a kid in a sweet shop. It was a real treat to have my picture with him. It was us that shouted out "Bodies!" Hope you put the pictures up on your site, just to show what a nice bloke Glen is. Cheers, Cliffo."
Cliffo
Fongy

 


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