The Sex Pissed Dolls/The Electric Shakes/Fayrewood Convention

Mr. Kyps, Poole

It’s Saturday night at Mr. Kyps as this Parkstone venue welcomes a headliner not in the usual mode of tribute. The Sex Pissed Dolls are a 5-piece all girl Punk Covers band. Despite the moniker play on words this isn’t just some girlie Sex Pistols tribute – no, these ladies cover the whole genre and more.

First up though are a local 4-piece, interestingly named Fayrewood Convention-(it’s catching)!! This band arrive on stage unannounced and deliver what can only be described as a “Friday night down the local” set of covers! The singer has an uncanny resemblance to the Pixies Black Francis, but the similarities end there. They’re not unpleasant, I just don’t know where they fit in tonight’s line-up. Nevertheless, they garner moderate applause to most of the songs they play.

Fayrewood Convention

Main support tonight are local, (soon to be) legends The Electric Shakes. A hard touring band who seem to be busy on the live circuit around these parts right now. They open with their popular singalong tune “Go”. The sound in the venue tonight is spot on and despite being loud the levels are just about right. For us fans we know what to expect from a “Shakes” setlist & the excellent “Get Loose” soon follows.

The Electric Shakes 1–2

It’s great to see them on a larger stage where they can move around more and quite literally, get loose! “Get on Love” follows but I feel they need to work on the song endings. However, “Daddy’s Girl” with its tight finish sets the standard. “Lightspeed Mother” returns to the power before a new song to me “They Won’t Believe Us”. This is a whole new sound and dare I say it, poppier and “cleaner” sounding!

The set ends with “Time to Ride” as they receive generous applause. They leave us with a promise of newer material to come in the future and we leave happy. The Electric Shakes-still dirty and still Rock ‘n’ Roll! Long may that continue.

And so to the headliners. One by one the ladies take to the stage as Connie (guitar)plays the opening bars of “Pretty Vacant”. There is really no other way to describe them – they look amazing! However, they murder the set opener before redeeming themselves with a crowd pleasing “Teenage Kicks”, which immediately gets us moving. To be honest, those of us of a certain age are in heaven – it’s the setlist of our youth. And they don’t just cover Punk. The Specials, Kaiser Chiefs, Nirvana, even the Beastie Boys!

“Swords Of A 1000 Men” and “Message In A Bottle” are early highlights with only “Into The Valley” falling somewhat short of their high standards. “Jilly Idol” (bass) has a fixed stare through almost the entire set while “Kitty” (guitar) to her right just simply looks stunning, while pulling shapes occasionally. “Nancy” (vox) asks if there’s any “Johns” in the audience before launching into “Jilted John” which starts the first of three big sing-alongs. She really gets in the spirit with a Cockney screech delivery of “Hersham Boys”, while “Sound of The Suburbs” set the bar very high as these girls really get into their stride. The set ends on The Ramones while the encore begins with The Ramones!

Sex Pissed Dolls 1–2–3–4

It would be so easy just to focus on the fact that it’s 5 girls, up on stage doing some well-chosen Punk covers. But no, this band embrace everything from the first wave of Punk and beyond. Resplendent in attire, full-on in attitude and a desire to entertain. They end unsurprisingly with ‘Anarchy In The UK’ and we all leave happy. They even take time to come and do pictures for the crowd, and there are no shortage of takers! The Sex Pissed Dolls deserve to be huge, and with age on their side the future looks bright. As one punter says to me ‘they would be great at The Rebellion Punk Festival-only time will tell!

Set-Lists
The Sex-Pissed Dolls
Pretty Vacant
Teenage Kicks
Swords of a 1000 Men
Hanging on the Telephone
Message in a Bottle
Too Much Too Young
Hurry Up Harry
Should I Stay or Should I Go
I Predict a Riot
Silly Thing
My Perfect Cousin
God Save The Queen
Into The Valley
Fight For Your Right to Party
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Jilted John
Hersham Boys
Sound Of The Suburbs
Holidays in the Sun
I Fought the Law
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker