Peter and the Test Tube Babies – at Beat Generator Live – Dundee, UK

Our road trip to Dundee got under way with 2 cars, 10 guys and of course loads of beer (except Dod). After several hours in the pub, we arrived at the Beat Generator Live bang on time. It is a smallish venue with I think about 200 capacity and there couldn’t  have been far off that amount in for the gig tonight.

It was a sweat box but a good punk venue ideally suited for nights like this. It was my first viewing of both support bands, Patrol and The Eddies, so I can't give you too much info on either of them other than to say they were both excellent. Punchy punk rock stuff that went down well with the locals in the rapidly filling venue. I'll definitely be checking them both out further in the near future.

And so to the main event. The Test Tube Babies come on stage and Peter starts the evening off with a political view that Scotland should stay part of the UK (lots of talk going on just now about Scotland getting its independence). They hit the ground running with an explosive “Moped Lads” quickly followed by “Run Like Hell”. The crowd is very close to the stage with just a barrier between them, packed in nice and tight. It's already fairly active down the front and the band and are jumping up and down almost as much.
“The Jinx” is up next - my favourite song - probably cause we can all relate to being out with someone when everything goes wrong and you think he’s a jinx. “Never Made It”, about some one not making it to the lavatory, is great song and always makes me laugh. Although the Test Tube Babies don't take themselves too seriously when it comes to their song titles and lyrics, they most certainly do when it comes to putting on a show. They are tight as hell with every note and riff on the button.

In the song “Up Yer Bum”, where Peter constantly gives the crowd the middle finger, the crowd are really going for it and the pit is getting really wild. Peters announces "You can’t sing the next one as you don’t want to be part of Britain anymore!" and we get a storming “Keep Britain Untidy”. Things quieten down for a bit when we get "Transvestite". The song has a gentle, haunting intro that's more like a spoken word intro to a horror movie, slow paced but building into a crescendo of noise when the man in the song realises he has been conned. It's not a woman he's pulled but a guy. “Is this some kind of joke? You're really a bloke.” All the while Peter is holding the mic like a penis. They up the pace again though with "Maniac”, which had Peter pulling some very scary zombie like faces, eyes rolling back into his head. 

We know it must be getting near the end of the set as the familiar intro to the Test Tubes classic “Banned from the Pubs” rings out. Of course it had the whole venue erupting. One of our crew manages to get along the front of the pit to sing along with Peter. It's not the final song though and I'm surprised and delighted that the main set closes with Blown Out Again, another favorite of mine, once again executed with precision.

They leave the stage after this but the noisy crowd are wanting more. After a few minutes, they return to the stage and we get a mass singalong for “Elvis Is Dead”. The final song is a seemingly never-ending run through September and then they're off, for good this time.
 
All in all, this was a great road trip. Three excellent bands for a measly eight quid in a great wee punk venue. I think we'll be back!

 

Set List:
Moped lads
Run like hell
Jinx
Never made it
Unlucky day
Shit stirrer
Up yer bum
Keith moon
Keep Britain Untidy
Shake my world
Transvestite
Maniac
Banned from the pubs
Blown out
 
Encore:
Elvis is dead
September
 

-Dod M.- and -New York Johnny-
Big Wheel Overseas Correspondents

 
             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

 

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