Was Reading ready for the intensity of Gans? At the Facebar 25th November.
At the Lexington back in September it was a memorable evening of intense energy when we saw Gans. Tonight finds the duo in the midst of a seven straight days run of gigs, with a Reading crowd with excellent taste, but an average age well over a decade (maybe closer to two) over the mad London gathering we were part of. How will the high octane Gans inferno go down on a cold Tuesday in the smaller of the two rooms at the Facebar?
ELLiSD
The last time we saw Ellis Dickson he was drumming for Fat Dog at their phenomenal Oxford gig back at the start of the year. Tonight he is on guitar with his full band. He is impossibly tall with skinny legs and a mop of hair, like a younger version of Andy from Andy And The Band (for those of you with CBBC watching children).
The band sound great, a really different sound to most current guitar bands. They lean into 1970s influences for a sort of start-stop, riff heavy, garage-psych-rock. Dickson’s singing performs all sorts of lyrical gymnastics, crooning, coaxing, eyes boggling. He tries to encourage those at the back further forward, after there is a bit of reticence he states, “You won’t get away with that with Gans.” Too bloody right.
It is compelling and interesting. They are well worth checking out if you get the chance.
Gans
It is a strange life as a band of this size. One day you are supporting Pete Doherty on a large stage, the next you are setting up your own kit on a raised seating area in a smallish bar.
Any doubts that Gans might take their foot of the peddle are quickly dispelled. It doesn’t matter where they are or how busy they have been they will give the audience everything. ‘A Fool’ again opens with its promise that, “Gans is good for the soul.” I have yet to disagree. Euan Woodman rips into the drums and Tom Rhodes is full into his guitar. The only pity is that the vocals are really buried into the mix and stay that way all evening. The sound mix at The Lexington was vastly superior.
It doesn’t take many tracks for the shenanigans to start. Euan is Commander In Chief as usual and comes forward to order us to, “Open it up” and “Make a Circle.” More people in their forties oblige than I was expecting and it briefly pings around for a bit before settling down again.
Euan later wanders out into the crowd and over to the bar whilst Tom keeps the guitar and synths ticking over. Embarrassingly, the bar man seems to have chosen this moment to walk off. Euan entertains us with a string of random thoughts at the bar until he returns with two shots in hand. I am not sure they will be able to safely carry on this level of intensity if they continue to perform close to 200 gigs a year, but for now they are loving their lives and are great fun.
Just over halfway through and the vests and t-shirts are off again, both performing sweaty and bare chested. They are having a great time as always, and that in turn encourages the crowd to have one. Towards the end Euan asks everyone to split down the middle. He proceeds to do the worm along the length of the gap before trying out a few hand stands. Afterwards he lies flat on the floor, briefly spent.
Tunes like ‘I think I like you’ and ‘It’s just life’ continue to sound focused and brilliant. After about 50 minutes they are done, taking the applause and heading to the peace and quiet of the dressing room/backstage area. Despite the sound issues people present are discussing how much they enjoyed it. The wet and windy evening has been tamed and conquered by the warmth, energy and unwillingness to ever have a quiet, boring night at one of their own gigs. Long may it continue.
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