Ex Hex at Scala

Ex Hex

Jacuzzi Boys

The Wharves

Scala, 2 November 2015

On the stairs of the venue before the show I saw Mary Timony, alone and heading for the doors. I wanted to shout out "Mary, I love you!" or just get her autograph, but sadly I timidly shuffled past, head down thinking "Don't bother her!" and "Never meet your heroes!" In some ways Timony looked like just another woman at the show but she also radiated a certain unattainable cool and maybe it's for the best that I didn't break that spell. Certainly, on stage she's a guitar goddess, effortless and fun, a total rock star, in fact, let's face it, Mary Timony couldn't be cooler.

Earlier this year I saw Ex Hex for the first time and gushed my heart out on this blog and all these months on the show itself hasn't really changed but it is still as fun as ever. Timony though looks a lot more confident and comfortable having fun on stage and the interaction between her and bassist Betsy Wright (still looking like if Madonna had joined The Runaways) feels so natural and joyous, as they grin at each other while doing their best David Bowie and Mick Ronson impressions. It's impossible not to be swept away by it all and pogo along to poppy beats and cool riffs and harmonies to fill your heart. 

With only one album under their belt (they are due to start their second next year), the set list was pretty much the same as last time (essentially all twelve songs from the album and a cover), only this time the cover version changed: instead they played All Kindsa Girls by The Real Kids, which popped up on Soundcloud last month and sounded fast and life affirming in a punky, Ramones-style way (I'm not familiar with the original which may be exactly the same) with Wright doing her best to encourage everyone to sing along to the chorus. 

Every member of the band is amazing to watch, whether it's Timony smiling like a girl with a new

toy and then ripping away like a complete guitar hero, or Wright snarling like the bad girl in the movie gang, making 70s-style catsuits majorly badass and glam as she performs an amazing bass solo worthy of John Entwistle or jumps off the stage to be closer to the barrier. And then there's Laura Harris, who is steady as a rock, funny and tough, in the best possible way. Ex Hex are the kind of girl gang I've always wanted to join. I wish I could follow them around and see every show, that's how good they are.

Supporting tonight were two other trios beginning with The Wharves, who apparently hail from my neck of the woods, Deptford. I had assumed they were all sisters, because they all looked alike but actually hail from England, Ireland and France. Their sound is a dreamy mix of bands like Warpaint, The Breeders and Stereolab: a swirl of noisy guitars and lovely girly harmonies. Certainly nothing new but still both intriguing and, at times, quite captivating.

Next and weirdly exciting were the terribly named Jacuzzi Boys, who I was quite expecting to hate. Instead each song became more and more exhilarating, with their fast and catchy garage rock. Singer/guitarist Gabriel Alcala looked like he was channeling late 80s Cobain but their sound was more the Stooges, Ween or punk rock era Flaming Lips (Alcala's squeaky vocals reminded me of early Wayne Coyne anyway). With weird shouted song introductions (every song got one, example: "This song is called Refrigerator! Do you like refrigerators?! Well this song is for you!!!") they were strangely hugely fun and actually one of the best, most enjoyable support acts I've seen in ages. I've read they don't live up to their live shows on record but in concert they are definitely worth catching live and made a rather perfect bill with the excellent Ex Hex.