Live: Big Sexy Noise @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

Big Sexy Noise, the blues-punk band that came to be about a decade ago when Lydia Lunch joined forces with Gallon Drunk, is on the road again, preaching their sexy, noisy and indeed big rock 'n' roll gospel to the faithful!

Without a new record, at least for the time being, the tight, raunchy hour-long set the band presented at their second Gagarin 205 gig (read all about their first one from 2011 here) comprised of songs their fans already knew from their two older releases, 2009's "Big Sexy Noise" and 2011's "Trust The Witch", with highlights including "Your Love Don't Pay My Rent", "Kill Your Sons", "Cross the Line", "Collision Course".

The explosive rock energy coming from James Johnston's guitar and Ian White's drums was truly remarkable, making you forget the lack of other instruments and mainly that of Terry Edwards saxophone who was not part of the band this time. The focus of attention though could not be anyone else than Lydia Lunch and her ferocious voice who commanded the stage like a rock witch who you don't want to cross, sipping her wine and orchestrating the big sexy noise of her band.

Big Sexy Noise, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

The night opened with a set from Omega Ray, a new psych rock band led by George Karanikolas of The Last Drive, who presented songs from their 2017 album "Ω-Ray", a different, more trippy experience from what we've heard over the years from his other projects.

Omega Ray, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

Check out below the set list and videos from two of the highlights of Big Sexy Noise's performance in Athens:

Big Sexy Noise - Collision Course (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Big Sexy Noise - Kill Your Sons (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Edit this setlist | More Big Sexy Noise setlists

Big Sexy Noise, Momus, Blaine L. Reininger, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, Feb. 4, 2011)

In the words of the Goth Godmother / No Wave Nostradamus herself: "It's time to stop complaining, quit your crying and embrace the coming End Times. Let's fucking rock." In order to do just that, Lydia Lunch joined forces with Gallon Drunk's Terry Edwards, James Johnston and Ian White and formed the aptly name Big Sexy Noise who unleashed a tremendous self-titled LP back in 2009.

Luckily for us, this successful collaboration continues and Friday night we had the opportunity to enjoy the swamp-punk sounds of Big Sexy Noise live on Gagarin 205's stage. Lydia Lunch's harsh, smoky voice blends perfectly with the dirty, violent sounds emanating from Johnston's long-sufferin' guitar, Edwards' sax and synths and White's derailed drums, achieving their stated mission to fucking rock - hard! The hour-long explosive performance featured the majority of their 2009 album, including "Gospel Singer", Lou Reed's "Kill Your Sons", "Baby Faced Killer", "Dark Eyes", "Another Man Coming" and "Your Love Don't Pay My Rent". Another highlight was their cover of The Seeds' classic "Pushin' Too Hard". Let's just hope that there is more to come from Big Sexy Noise in the near future - and that Courtney Love, who lost the plot completely last year with "Nobody's Daughter", starts taking notes again!

Big Sexy Noise live@Gagarin 205

Here's my shaky video of "Gospel Singer" (sorry, but the floor was shaking beneath my feet), a track co-written with Kim Gordon, from this big sexy noisy night:

Big Sexy Noise - Gospel Singer, live @ Gagarin 205 (Feb. 4, 2011)

Blaine L. Reininger

But that wasn't all. As a bonus, on the same night we had the opportunity to remember highlights from the long and winding careers of both Blaine L. Reininger and Momus.

Reininger, accompanied by local musician Tilemachos Musas on guitar, closed the night by playing tracks from his solo days as well as from his former band, the legendary Tuxeedo Moon, while Nick Currie, a.k.a. Momus, opened proceedings with an one-man synthpop-cabaret show that lasted over an hour, with tracks going as far back as the mid-'80s when he started his solo career with "Circus Maximus". From this album we got "Lucky Like St. Sebastian" (see lemonostiftis' video below), with a dancer appearing on stage to add a touch of dirty dancing, helping to make this song one of the night's highlights. From my personal favorite Momus album, 1989's "Don’t Stop The Night", he played "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", while from "Tender Pervert", another favorite from his Creation years, we got "The Angels Are Voyeurs", "The Homosexual" and the excellent, acid-house influenced, "A Complete History of Sexual Jealousy (Parts 17-24)". In the plus points I'll add his cover of Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes", in the minus the fact that all of the music was pre-recorded and played back from a portable device. Still, a fine performance from a gifted entertainer (check out his interesting story in this video interview). 

Momus live @ Gagarin 205

Momus - Lucky Like St. Sebastian, live @ Gagarin 205 (Feb. 4, 2011)