Warmduscher make music to dematerialise the catatonia; bawdy, mercurial and never dull, their combination of Beefheart blues and Funkadelic groove, always transcribes to a raucous live show where every song vies for attention, flitting between doo-wop soul and cacophonous mayhem in a matter of minutes. Tonight, they headline The Dome, bringing a selection of friends along for the ride including Jack Medley’s Secure Men and acid-house unit, Decius, fronted by Fat Whites’ Lias Saoudi. That’s a lot of personality for a 500 cap venue. No one has a persona quite like Clams Baker though; the band’s firebrand, Clams is a big bloke and a charismatic charlatan oozing warm humanity with large smiling eyes that glitter and dart. He’s also, more than likely, off his tits.
As legend has it, a Warmduscher gig can incite utter chaos with Clams babbling away, speaking in bizarre riddles that could have been plucked from a Terry Gilliam film with the rest of the band looking half-confused, half-entertained – but tonight is a more refined version of past events. The Wild-West anecdotes are still intact, the bemused expressions are still burned on to the features but the whole experience is more coherent, chock full of the delightful morsels that fill Whale City. And as anyone who has listened to Whale City can concur, it’s a definitive album of 2018; a proper kick up the arse. It possesses some of the filthiest riffs, some of the most ludicrous imagery and a Rabelaisian sense of humour.
Cuts from the album are gratefully received with waves of stage invaders peppering the stage, Big Wilma is all primitive thrust and manic energy, the fat, bobbing bass line of I Got Friends is a short, unadulterated joyride whilst tracks like 1000 Whispers act as a palate cleanser, giving all the sweaty bastards in the crowd a chance to mop their brows.
I can’t really put my finger on why Warmduscher work so well – maybe it’s because they bring out the reprobate in all of us, but they’re a band who are deeply entertaining to watch live and a weapon against the simplistic, straight-jacket within.
Photos by Through The Eyes Of Ruby