Hello Gecko!

9 November 2018
The Penny Theatre, Canterbury
 

I made it down early to catch Splink's set. Guitarist Matt (aka Leonie Evans' dad) was flattered and put me on the guest list, kindly. They'd offered to play first so that they'd get a longer set. Spacerock! Broken Boats were pretty intense, the singer clearly influenced by Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures T-shirt and Ian Curtis vocal stylings). Soft Wax had some impressively written songs and sung harmonies, a bit Split Enz. And Hello Gecko were simply fabulous! A fresh take on danceable, euphoric psychedelia. Without sounding anything like them, HG have the same "woooosh" factor as Hawkwind. You felt like you'd been taken on a journey. "Well that was refreshing," commented Martin from Witchdoctor at the end, and that was exactly the word. I'd started to think I was getting bored with live music in recent weeks, but this completely restored my faith in it.