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June 26, 2006
Stiff Little Fingers at the House of Blues Anaheim, June 17, 2006
Review by Kevin Hillskemper
Photo from the Stiff Little Fingers website
Stiff Little Fingers could be the B.B. Kings of 1977-era UK punk. They were not the first, or the biggest, or necessarily the best, but they’re still alive to inherit the throne. At two original members, they are running neck and neck with the Buzzcocks. I think it would be cool if the two bands merged to form one great punk super-group. But what would you call them? The Buzz Fingers? Stiff Little…..oh, never mind.
I had never seen Stiff Little Fingers before and I was happily amazed. They made some pretty good records, of course, but it took seeing them live for me to appreciate how powerful their songs really are. They only put out a handful of albums, but they have a surprisingly solid body of work to draw from.
Founding Finger Jake Burns has still got all his chops and can bellow with the best of them. With original bassist Ali McMordie back in the band, it's no surprise that the set consisted mostly of crowd-pleasing early material. If you paid to hear “Tin Soldiers,” “Wasted Life,” "Nobody's Hero, " and so on, you got your money's worth and then some. No “Gotta Getaway” though – probably because there were too many drunks shouting out requests for it. Fair enough. "Doesn't Make It Alright" fulfilled the warm and fuzzy sing-along part of the show. The newest songs, from 2003’s quite good “Guitar and Drum” album, fit in nicely with the classics and went over quite well. I really liked the great show-biz moment when Burns introduced the members of the band Las Vegas style during the extended version of “Suspect Device.” Applause. Encore – “Johnny Was” and “Alternative Ulster.” Thank you good night.
The Tossers opened the show. They were a fake Irish band. They are very good at emulating the style of the early Poques and Flogging Molly but don't add much to it. It's somewhat off-putting when the singer speaks in a New York voice but sings like a Lucky Charms commercial. I suppose that without the fake accent, the music would just sound like bluegrass and how cool would that be? Like many white people in this country, I had an Irish ancestor or two but so what? St. Patrick’s Day means about as much to me as Arbor Day or National Stamp Collecting Week.
I celebrate Casual Friday.
Posted by Big Kev at June 26, 2006 7:16 PM
