YOU gotta push it out every now and again, so we'll try this: you'll remember the first time Suede played Dublin, the first time Oasis played Dublin will you be remembering the first time Bis played Dublin?
Maybe, maybe not, but as we write, the bunch of Scottish teenagers that make up Bis are hanging around D'Olier Street, banging on our door and shouting through the letterbox. "Let us in, we're gong to be the next big indie band. If you don't write about us now, you can go and f--k off when you're looking for a backstage pass to our sold out show at Madison Square Gardens". Away with you indie children, we're supposed to be talking about Everything But The Girl this week. "If you let us in, we'll tell you all about how the hitherto irreconcilable musical forces of disco and punk can be successfully merged into the sort of dynamic, post Britpop sound that will prove irresistible to the masses." Enough already, come in and bring a black and white photo with you.
The thing about Bis is this: now that they have become the first ever band without a record contract to appear on Top Of The Pops, they think they're great. The only problem here is that they quite possibly are very great - judging by their first three singles. The Glasgow three piece, who are still without a proper record deal, are a bunch of disco punk pop urchins of the highest order.
They first came to our attention with the debut seven inch, Transmissions On The Teen C Tip, which was released on the Spanish record label, Acuarella, and that was promptly followed up by the excellent Disco Nation EP. Such was their lack of self belief, they only pressed 1,000 copies of Disco Nation, but when those flew out of the independent record stores, they've been busy pressing it up in larger numbers since. Good ol' John Peel was the first British DJ on their case and after he nurtured them for the requisite 15 minutes, they started getting airplay on the more mainstream programmes.
The music and fashion press quickly followed suit and not a since Suede's 1994 triumph in the press has a new band been able to include these quotes in their portfolio: "The most thrillingly wonderful new band in Britain" - Vox; "The pop sensations of 1996" - NME; and "The freshest, rashest, most dashing teen phenomenon" - The Face.
The funny thing about all of this is that Bis are not even headlining their first Dublin gig tomorrow - in fact, they're not even second on the bill, they're third, and if that is not shocking enough, they're not even playing a night time gig. It's in the afternoon and they're not even playing somewhere like Whelans or The Mean Fiddler, they're in Charlie's Bar in Aungier Street.
The bigger picture is this: the headlining band is Bikini Kill (the prototypical riot grrrl band) and second on is Team Dresch. The admission charge for all three bands is a laughable £3 and kick off time is an equally laughable 2.30 in the afternoon.
By the way, the people behind the gig are Hope Promotions who are back in action after too long a break. Hope Promotions are to be roundly applauded for (a) having the balls to bring in these three bands when most of the main promoters wouldn't touch them and (b) not ripping people off on the admission charge. Hope, you may or may not remember, were also the people who have brought Fugazi, Babes In Toyland and Green Day (in the days before they started to suffer from "nervous exhaustion") to Dublin. Hats off to Hope Promotions.
AND in brief: The "teenage Oasis" that are known (stupidly enough) as Northern Uproar play Club Loaded at the Olympia tonight (late) ... Local band, The Brilliant Trees, who have a lovely album out at the moment - and a sure fire hit in a song called Talent - are at The Mean Fiddler, Camden Street, next Thursday night ... Special request: would Gearhead Nation send in a copy of their newsletter to our usual address. Thanks . . . Coming up next week: a special Spanish Inquisition with Everything But The Girl, where we ask them why they gave up slow, melancholy, beds it folk rock for Jungle. And we don't take "because of the money" for an answer. Place your order now!
