Queen Zee & The Sasstones
Queen Zee & the Sasstones led a joyous a glam-punk bash at Queer Rrriot and Getintothis’ Denise Hodgkinson was bowled over.
Queen Zee & the Sasstones played and partied at alternative Pride event and yet again, they didn’t let us down.
Opening the night at Foxy’s Lomax were Manchester-based noise merchants ded.pixel who kicked off proceedings with their sci-fi influenced space-rock.
Based around the nucleus of singer and keytar player, Rhys H. Pixel and bassist and singer Ashleigh Talbot, this was their first show in Liverpool and they certainly made an impression, with Pixel taking his megaphone and going walkabout through the crowd.
Their heavy, European-tinged sound is reminiscent of Zodiac Mindwarp at times, which isn’t surprising as they claim to be influenced by Dystopian literature, eighties pop culture, seventies Prog Rock, and synth acts such as Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk.
Campbell L. Sangster is a Liverpool singer-songwriter, formerly of Kit and Bad Anorak 404.
Performing an acoustic set tonight, Sangster had to battle a poor start sound-wise, but delivered an accomplished and professional set which would probably have gone down better at the start of the bill, before the party atmosphere took over.
The people who stayed to listen were treated to gems such as the wonderful single Odds are Stacked and a stunning memoir about being an outsider in Liverpool in the seventies, 7” single 1977.
Qfolk is Liverpool-based American, Quinn, who combines shouty, stream-of-consciousness lyrics (‘cookie monster folk punk’), with bashing the life out of an acoustic guitar.
Their intention is to ‘cause a fucking ruckus and burn the heteronormative classist racist imperalist patriarchy to the ground’. They tried to start an actual fire but thankfully it didn’t take hold. After numerous pleas for ‘just one more song’, they were eventually persuaded to leave the stage.
Also from Manchester, Tuck & the Binders were the surprise of the evening. Indigo, Seb, Dandy and Bee describe themselves as Trans-punk, and their sound is in a similar vein to the art-punk-feminism of the Au Pairs, Raincoats and Delta 5.
Their songs have fabulous titles such as Piss Where We Want and Cis Dickheads. Still in their infancy, there is a definite vibe that they have the potential to go far. Follow them on Facebook to see videos and be sure to look out for them in Liverpool again in September.
Blasting straight in with the new single Sass or Die, Queen Zee and the Sasstones start as they mean to go on. Zee is resplendent in a topless dress with black tape crosses over their nipples à la Wendy O Williams. The dress is soon dispensed with, leaving Zee in a ripped tights and black thong combo
With Sassified covers of Britney Spears Hit Me, Baby, One More Time and Electric Six’s Gay Bar, they ramp up the party atmosphere. Sissy Fists and I Hate Your New Boyfriend, which are by now both old favourites, are received with furious moshing, which Zee enthusiastically joins.
Appropriately, the last song is Fly the Pink Flag, the Sasstones bringing the weekend to an end with a joyful glam-punk bash.
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