The Fuxedos, Killsonic, Quazar & the Bamboozled, and Moxy Phinx at Spaceland

In a night of appalling band names Moxy Phinx (get it?) opened and proceeded to steal the show. An empty stage with a few chairs could hardly prepare you for what was to follow as one of the dancers dramatically strode on and pressed play on a MACbook in the corner... More interpretive dancers arrived on stage along with singer Katrina Lenk (aka Moxy Phinx) who was dressed like an evil Disney Queen. The music was a wonderful blend of classical, subtle electronica and reverb drenched piano, which particularly featured on a brilliant version of The Pretenders 'I go to sleep' - the song elevated to greatness by an emotive vocal over the ghostly piano. The dancers left the stage for a few songs leaving Ms Phinx alone to sing a couple of more upbeat numbers (which reminded me a little of St Vincent or Emiliano Torrini) before returning to dance amongst the audience as the set finished.

Moxy Phinx


Quazar & the Bamboozled are obviously going for that whole Dr John or Captain Beefheart vibe and despite having the look down pat (including top hat!) they have neither the blues of the former or eccentricity of the latter. Stripped of these facets what you basically have is an average version of The Commitments...

Quazar & the Bamboozled


Music and comedy can be uncomfortable bedfellows, particularly when something is not funny and the music sounds (as every musicomedy group does) like a cross between Spinal Tap, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Bat out of Hell... So basically, the hour The Fuxedos (get it?) spent on stage was possibly the worst hour of my life. The singer was sooo desperate to be funny it was excruciating. I was miserable...

The Fuxedos


I wondered earlier in the day whether Spaceland would be the best place to see situationist avante jazz band Killsonic. You take away the situation (for example last weekends Prop 8 march) and put the band in a closed environment and you have a marching band without a march, rebels without a cause - a prep rally for hipsters! I'd like to see them again, on a march with the rubber bullets flying...

Killsonic