Frontman Chris Campion is glad to be in the UK as they allow smoking in the bars, unlike his native New York.
Considering he chain smokes his way through the set, this is a pretty crucial factor in keeping his roughly hewn voice
in fine fettle.
It appear that back home he requires "A nicotine patch on my balls" to allow
the seemingly Cash/Springsteen./Country tinged effect to be maintained
Mind you, NY does have other advantages in that the Drops are able to
stumble amongst the back drop of the incumbent deviant denizens which are
used as back drops for their raucous energy laden tunes such as "Viscous
Friends". Campion has a natural raconteur style approach, which he uses to
get a reaction from the crowd.
Totally un-PC, he wears a t shirt with "I love Chicks" emblazoned upon it, and
seemingly wants our advice/reaction upon their attempts to score with the
hotel waitresses, a confrontation style developed during a residency in NY
that led to opening slots for artists such as the Violent Femmes.
Tonight, a lack of familiarity from the crowd means responses are in short
supply - we British are always so polite and reserved aren't we?
It's the last night of the tour and there's a gleeful exuberance in their
performance - perhaps they're making the most of the cigarettes and
hotel women, or possibly the boys in a toyshop called rock'n'roll
syndrome, with all the trimmings of sex, drugs and music is still
having the attraction it first did.
"Wasted" from the album "Killed by the Lights" is positively brimming
with snarled vocals and the frantic axemanship of Tom Licamelli as
his finger dance over the guitar strings.
When the pace is fast they're at their best, and over the course of the
45 minute set, numbers such as "Freeze Dried" and "Hell Rd" give plenty to think over.
I guess they'll be ordering a large batch of patches from tomorrow then