21/2/2006 Zen Motel, Rattlesnake Remedy & Red Star Rebels @ the Purple Turtle

Subject	Zen Motel, Rattlesnake Remedy & Red Star Rebels @ the Purple Turtle
PostedDate	2/21/2006 12:01:00 PM
	I went to the Purple Turtle to see Zen Motel - a band I hadn't seen for far too long. They are now supplemented with a second guitarist - who seemed to rock as far as I could tell but I couldn't really hear him.  The band put on their usual excellent performance, and threw in two or three songs from bassist/singer Lee and drummer Neil's former band Johnny Zhivago - including 'Twenty First Century Bitch' which I'd never heard this band play before.  It was interesting to see that Jay who also used to play guitar in Johnny Zhivago was present at the gig as well. The band threw in some good new songs from their forthcoming second album like 'Dress Code Violence' as well as some old favourites like 'Black Tail' and 'Devil Song'.  Unfortunately Zen Motel's set was over all too soon, but it was very well recieved by the crowd - most of whom can't have previously known who the band were. I've noticed recently that this venue has very cool audiences at it's rock shows who always seem to appreciate a good band even if they have no idea who they are - a nice change to the apathetic crowd reaction to support bands at most London rock gigs.  The rest of the evening seemed to turn into a 'Who's best at being Guns 'N' Roses' competion.  Not that I have a problem with G'N'R at all - but there seem to be a hundred bands in London at the moment who look and sound just like the last two bands on the bill tonight... Next on were Rattlesnake Remedy, sounded almost like a G'N'R tribute band at times, although they were playing their own songs - the only change being a couple of good blues workouts. The singer looked more like Spike from the Quireboys than 'mad Axl' though. They were a good enough band at what they do though, and their guitarist played much of one song standing halfway along the bar - always good to see some showmanship. Red Star Rebels gave us pretty much more of the same, with an added helping of cheese on the side. The singer still needs to lose that dodgy hat though, although the bass player sported a much cooler Axl/Scott Weiland style number.  In a nice surprise I discovered at the end of the evening that Zen Motel have just been added to the bill at the Underworld next week supporting the Ga*Ga*s with Red Star Rebels (there's no escaping those guys at the moment!) and the fantastic Planet Of Women.