Live Review: Claw Marks – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 27.11.2014

If you got home from work/college/shoplifting that late that you were unable to get down to the Brudenell for the opening act last Thursday, well count your lucky stars. For you were saved the tortuous half hour or so the rest of us had to endure when London’s second most disgusting band turned up.

Claw Marks, fronted by Britain’s least wanted ‘man’, Jack ‘should be in a box’ Lantern, consist of five young gentleman moonlighting as musicians, of which I’m sure is just a front to cover up far more spurious activities, let’s start with smoking indoors and drinking wine straight from the bottle – eww!!!

Someone seriously needs to speak to these hoodlum’s about stage etiquette.

Respect the venue and respect the audience.

Not much to ask really. But for Clor Marx all rules are ignored and not long after taking the stage to create their noise – see the Oxford dictionary under clamour – they’d spilt their beer; they’d spilt their wine, and with scant regard for anyone other than themselves set about generating one almighty hullabaloo. The caterwauling vocalist didn’t take long to get in amongst the crowd, harassing the locals and lolling about like he owned the place.

Behind him his cohorts seemed intent on recreating the sound of a dozen brown ale bottles bouncing around inside an over-amped cement mixer.

In a scene more akin to feeding time in monkey enclosure, they were jumping up and down, jumping on the drums, and jumping on each other.

I can quite categorically state that Claw Marks are by far the worst Queen tribute band I have ever seen in my life.

Or we could have said… if you got down late and missed them, you missed one of the most entertaining live acts around. A proper enigmatic frontman, full on thrashed out guitars, boundless amounts of energy, a refreshing alternative to the pomp and posturing we witness far too often these days.