Derby Assembly Rooms 17.5.97

Having arrived far too damn early for our own good, myself and vampirical partner hid ourselves around the back of the venue, away from the green-shirted trendies and their orange-garbed chums. The Beekeepers, it would seem, are local heroes in Derby, and their bees are very young and very 'trendy'. Having shied away from the 'crowds' for nigh-on an hour, we finally plucked up enough courage to venture towards the entrance.

Once in, things weren't so bad. It was dark, for a start, so the green and orange people seemed not to be quite so lurid. Secondly, they were playing Blondie. Which made my day. Hum. First band Stumble, a local effort with hearty support from classmates, were nowt special, but could at least 'pen a tune.' Next up was Wilson, apparently loved by The Beekeepers. Shit name but band not so shit. Not shit by a long pole, but not shit hot either. Certain comparisons could be made with The Driven, but I'm buggered if I can be bothered making them. A few good songs played well, and erm... some bad ones thrown in for good measure.

At 9:30, after a lovely dance track consisting of weird noises, drums and the sound of breaking glass (the Prodigy's Break And Enter, so I have been told), the Beekeepers materialised onstage, kicking into opener Faking that was, umm... not very good, really. Not a good start, as number two, Licking Windows, was (naturally) poo as well (sorry Crissie!). Then things started to pick up, with singer Jamie (CJ crossed with Pat Smear) leaping around and frightening us all with his scary eye make-up. Well, I cried anyway. Unparalleled bliss was experienced in the form of Hold On, Do You Beehive (har har har) Like That At Home? and Lunar. The singles, in other words. A stunning new song, Killer Cure, took me to even greater heights of pleasure. There were some dull moments, and even newie Inheritance with its cool verse-line dragged on. The Beekeepers didn't let a little bit of poo get in their way, though, stamping their collective foot down upon it by ending with the incredible Catgut. Unmissable. Mostly. See what they're like in June...

Err... I actually missed the June gig, but I did get to see them at Phoenix...

Phoenix Festival 18.7.97

Finding themselves halfway up the bill on the Doc Marten stage, surely the Beekeepers would have no trouble in gaining themselves a tent full of converts today? They kicked off with a bang, and although the first time I heard them, Faking and Licking Windows did little for me, they are beginning to have their wicked way. Problems said hello when Gary (or is it Hugh, my old flatmate??? No-one can tell them apart...) found his guitar 'struggling to perform'. Mid-song, he swapped it for a nasty-looking replacement, and within seconds it was all go again, no damage done. A restrung original guitar was passed back at the end of the song, which was not a good move. It'd been wrongly tuned, so the sound was bloody horrible! The rest of the band did their best to get on with it, as Gary frantically tried to retune his guitar. Attempt number one failed, and it wasn't until halfway through Do You Behave Like That At Home? that he got it right... the end of which was met with a massive round of applause and cheering from the crowd. To make up for the disruption, The Beekeepers made a veritable charge into Killer Cure, and that at least made me happy. Just before Inheritance, Jamie dropped his mic, and received friendly cheers in return - he said in good humour that not much else could really go wrong. And it didn't. There were a lot of fans present, and the cheer Catgut got, before they'd even played it, was incredible given the size of the tent. Catgut blasted through, and we were left standing at the rail with deliriously happy smiles on our faces. They should be illegal, this lot.

Nottingham The Rig 3.3.98

After the longest day of work imaginable (unless you do real work, that is), and having heard inheritance played on Trent FM, I was looking forward to seeing the Beekeepers after a stinging absence of a few months. They were joined this evening by a support band who they weren't expecting, and whom I didn't see as I was having more fun next-door-but one... After a primary excursion to The Rig at nine-ish, when the bouncers said The Beekeepers had some technical problems and wouldn't be on till half ten, I finally turned up at about ten past. With uncanny punctuality, the band took the stage and busied themselves with the task of pummelling four shades of shit out of Eyeballed, a newie from the mini-album. Jamie then very politely said hello to us all, and gave us just enough time to appreciate julian's particularly impressive set of leathers, before he became no more than a blur as the show went on... They did a bit of Lunar, and played at least two new songs, which sadly seemed somewhat generic and not really striking in any way. Still, you're never going to get bored at a Beekeepers' gig, and despite a few niggles - Jamie's apparent 'normality' (no crowd invasion like last time...), and the guitars going out of tune for Do You Behave Like That At Home? - this was still well worth the entry price (£1!) and by far the finest way you could have spent the evening. Catgut still manages to be both bouncy and snarly, and is the best way for the band to end, almost allowing you to forget that the Beekeepers seem to have lost their aggressive edge. Let's hope it was an off-day and that they'll be bursting with energy next time round...