Faster Pussycat
London Underworld
1 May 2007
By Alissa Ordabai
(SugarBuzz London)
SugarBuzz Magazine
It turns out that Faster Pussycat have evolved into an incredibly beautiful beast of a band over the years. Instead of collecting sympathy by clinging to the remains of former glory they way it is done by so many bands of their generation, they seem to have simply matured, at the same time having managed to stay remarkably in tune with the times. It is true that Faster Pussycat have departed from the ranks of MTV chart toppers a long while ago, but what they have to say now is so unexpected and has so much strength, sensibility and style to it that you don’t even have to look back into their heyday past to become genuinely exited about this band.
If anything, the show once more confirmed just how much brilliance can be put into such simple tunes, and that a band can limit itself by the pure essentials of rock and still create marvels with pure presence, aesthetic intuition and style. A few days ago I would have never believed that it would be Faster Pussycat, of all bands, that would prove so compellingly the old truism that a band doesn’t have to have mind-blowing tunes to be fantastic.
Faster Pussycat’s rich, warm sound is what hits you first when you see them live these days. Over the years Brent Muscat and Eric Stacy have developed their own brand of elegant, barely noticeable slovenliness, practiced and balanced to perfection, aglow with style and understated chic. The band, of course, is a sharp act, but they manage to strike an almost impossibly fine balance between laid-back ease and impeccable focus leaving you to wonder if it’s the sun, the money, or some kind of other unknown mysterious factor that instils this kind of unique cool into the LA bands of their generation. No-one apart from a few other Hollywood acts is able to mix optimism, self-confidence, innate taste and sincerity to produce such a spectacular result.
The highlights of the show were so many, that to pick one, or two, or even five songs would have been unjust to the rest. “Don’t Change That Song” was a show-stopping banger that the crowd sang along and raised their fists to, and “You’re So Vain” showcased Brent Muscat adding real heat to the proceedings with a muscular solo set over a bouncy harmony. What Muscat knows best is how to put the vital edge and weight to otherwise simple songs, something that doesn’t seem too difficult to do, but if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it, and Muscat is one in a million.
“House of Pain” was something that the band did “for the beautiful women in the audience” and was handled perfectly, with vivid, poised sumptuousness. Kurt Frohlich is a genius for an elegant, captivating stage presence – cool without being aloof and classy without being pretentious. He is so naturally a performer, so spontaneously stylish that watching him you begin to understand that all this pizzazz must come from a very singular way of experiencing life that only musicians of a certain generation are capable of. There is no deception to his act, no airs or graces, but pure confidence and style, and an intuitive ability to be authentic while remaining a true entertainer. If anything, tonight’s show has demonstrated once again that big arenas, big egos and big budgets isn’t what makes a band truly great.
The fascination of the night wasn’t reserved for the headlining act. Enuff Z’Enuff and BulletBoys, the visiting support acts, both proved that they remain tough, tight bands. Marq Torien of BulletBoys has been looking after his extraordinary set of pipes really well all these years, and you couldn’t help but admire the audacity of his one-of-a-kind voice delivering irrepressible leads throughout the set.
The British support band Gypsy Pistoleros gave the crowd something cool and unforeseen with a synthesis of glam rock and flamenco, their genre-bending tearing down stylistic barriers with taste and confidence, adding luscious glam imagery to the classic flamenco standards.
The common feature of all four bands that played on the night is that somehow everything comes easy to them – the stage presence, the chops, the style. Watch any of them live and you will be able to tap into the essence of rock’n’roll that has that unmistakable authentic quality to it, the hallmark of a real thing.
The Faster Pussycat / BulletBoys / Enuff Z’Enuff / Gypsy Pistoleros European tour continues with dates in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Greece and Italy still to come, so grab your friends and see for yourselves what glam rock has to say these days. The message is as convincing as it used to be, but there is more subtlety and savvy to it today than ever before.