Voodoo Glow Skulls

Live in London (2016)

NickNutter

The Casillas brothers returned to the U.K for a big tour in early 2016, and this time they brought along Buck-O-Nine's Dan Albert on trombone, Tim Timebomb's own Mark Bush on trumpet, and Jughead's Revenge's AJ Condosta on drums. We have the makings of a supergroup already! This was quite a big tour, even taking in a trip to my home town, Ashton in Manchester, and no one ever fuckin' plays there! Good work VGS.

On January 30, 2016, the band played the Borderline in Soo, London. I always forget how small the Borderline is, it's bloody tiny, and it's a weird shape. But it's a damn good venue for a punk show. Under the ground, baking hot, toilets always an inch deep in piss, standard. It's also just off the famous Denmark Street in the heart of Soho, so if you get to the gig early, don't like one of the support acts, or just want some "fresh" London air, you can do a spot of window shopping, or visit the Sex Pistols' first rehearsal space to pass a bit of time.

As soon as Voodoo Glow Skulls started playing, the place went nuts, and I was instantly covered in beer someone has decided to throw in excitement, (It's £5 a pint for fuck's sake, don't bloody waste it!). What else can I say but this band is fuckin' TIGHT! I don't know how they play so fast. Eddie Casillas' left hand looked like it was in fast forward, and Condosta was a machine on drums. Frank still has a really strong voice. It was really distinctive, and it sounded just the same as it did all those years ago when I first heard "El Coo Cooi" on Punk 'o' Rama 2.

They had great energy for an "older" band. Frank skanked with the best of 'em! The brass section was amazing, and fair play to the engineer who did a great job, it was a fantastic sounding gig. The band play all the "hits" – "Voodoo Anthem," "El Coo Cooi," "Fat Randy," "Charlie Brown," "Shoot the Moon," "Delinquent Song." Some songs just passed by at the blink of an eye. You could have went to the bar and they could have played three songs by the time you've ordered and paid for a pint.

One of my highlights was a really drunk kid in a rather fetching chequered shirt who tried to stage dive but kind of ended up just being held up in the air in one position for about 5 minutes, kickingthe lights. Good stuff.