Buzzin Music

The Dentists & The Claim Live @ Dingwalls, Camden London, Thursday 25th March 2010.

In the mid-1980’s amidst the jangly guitar-led music of indie pop were two of Kent’s finest bands, just waiting to be ‘discovered’.  The Dentists & The Claim spearheaded a second generation of bands to be typecast with the ‘Medway Sound‘ label, following in the footsteps of Thee Milkshakes & The Prisoners. And though both had similarities in their post-punk influences  and contemporary-retro sound, the two bands were different.

The Claim Live @ Dingwalls - photo: Phil Dillon 2010

Last night The Claim took to the Dingwalls stage ahead of The Dentists, just like the old days, and immediately the very famous, almost full, venue came alive; though looking round at the audience I’m not sure all of them are going to make another reunion gig if it takes another twenty odd years for these two bands to play together again!

This was a second reunion bash for The Claim who played in Rochester last September to promote the compilation CD – Black Path.

Anyone clinging to the bar would not have heard the full impact of an excellent live sound which appeared to give The Claim’s perfect pop songs more power than I remembered from the previous gig.

David Read, Dave Arnold, Stuart Ellis & Martin Bishop were enjoying themselves.  Not once did I see them look at each other without their faces bursting into Cheshire grins.  And so they should.  With their tight beats, bouncing bass lines and two guitar jangle accompanying Dave Read’s unique part-pop part-crooning delivery, The Claim showed once more that with their wonderful, quirky British pop songs, they should have been heard by the masses, not a select few.

The Dentists Live @ Dingwalls - photo: Phil Dillon 2010

This was the first time The Dentists had played together for fifteen years, and even longer since performing with their original drummer Ian ‘Vic Templar’ Smith.  Ian played the first half as The Dentists played a selection of favourites from the early 1980’s.  They seemed to take a couple of songs to get into the swing.  Whether that was rust or nerves, it wasn’t long before they got into the groove and like The Claim showed they were having fun fun fun and simply enjoying being back on stage together.

No more so than Bob Collins who gave the impression, after all the other bands & solo performances since 1995, what he loved more than anything was being back on stage playing his jangly red Epiphone guitar alongside Mick Murphy, Mark Matthews & Ian Smith.

At half-time Smith was replaced by Rob Grigg.  A tactical substitution as the second of three members to drum for The Dentists, Alun Jones, was still lost on Planet Zogg & unavailable to play songs recorded by The Dentists from possibly their most popular period (mid to late 1980’s) including a personal favourite, Writhing On The Shagpile.

Personally, I love Ian’s more trash Medway style of drumming but Rob brings a more solid rock backbeat to The Dentists’ sound that gives it a more meaty power; and in turn the boys from Medway rocked out, as did the audience.

Fortunately, neither band uttered the words “this is a new one”.  And we all went home happy bunnies.  That is apart from the fact that Dingwalls decided to rip everyone off with over-inflated bar prices – £3.75 for a can of Red Stripe – bastard!

Oh, and I saw a heron after the gig on the Camden Lock.

This concert was brought to you by Grecian 2000 & Just For Men.

The Dentists - If All The Flies Were One Fly (a collection of rare & unreleased Dentistry 1984-1995) is now available from all good record stores & HMV.