Tigertailz - Sunday 15th May 2011 - Manchester MOHO Live

The noise level was critical when Welsh Glam Titans Tigertailz finally returned to the Manchester stage as a headline act for the first time since late 1991.

Re-energised, refreshed and reloaded with the new addition of Ex-Fuzzbox bass player Sarah Firebrand and drummer extraordinaire Robin Guy the mighty 'tailz took to the stage following a last minute support slot from upcoming band, Falling Red.

I had heard great things about Falling Red and was looking forward to checking them out but after a strong opening the band, I felt lacked a creative spark jamming no less than 3 cover versions (including a ridiculously plodding cover of Love Gun by Kiss) into a 30 minute set. The band either have no faith in their own material or are under-rehearsed either way I can't see that the show earned them any new fans.

The front-line of Falling Red really look like a band, their image, their stagecraft even down to their choice of guitars. The drummer however was, for me, the weak link in a chain already loosened by the aforementioned cover versions. Certainly stylistically he looked as though he would be more at home in a band fronted by Marilyn Manson but even his musicality was seemingly devoid of the energy and spark needed (and certainly generated) by the rest of the band. I think more time needs to be spent practising stick-spinning and visual tricks to really fit in with the band. Having said that, he was very tight, just a little...well...boring.

No doubt the band, having been shoehorned onto the bill at the last moment were suffering from this and I look forward to being much more impressed by them in their slot at the S.O.S. Festival in July certainly their own material showed a great deal of promise with big chords and catchy choruses including a lovely power ballad. I just wish the band believed in it more.

After a short break Tigertailz took to the stage with the massive opening track 'Sick Sex' from the 1989 stand-out album Berzerk and that is exactly what the (disappointingly thin) crowd did. From Jay Pepper's opening riff to the closing Chord of the evening the crowd went beserk as only a Mancunian crowd can. The energy levels rising as the set wound on.

Crashing swiftly into 'Wazbones' the title track from the unreleased 1992 album of the same name the band played a set culled mostly from the aforementioned Beserk album Tigertailz showing everyone why exactly they were once one of the UK rock-scenes most exciting bands fusing the bombast of Kiss with the showmanship of Motley Crue and utilising samples and loops before most band had even figured out how to use a drum machine.

As a longtime fan of the band I was really looking forward to seeing what the new line-up brought to the older material and I was not disappointed. The delicious Ms. Firebrand gave the basslines of the back catalogue a sexy new fire whilst the blur of sticks at the back of the stage kicked (literally) the intensity of the tracks up several notches.

Struggling against a horrendous onstage sound and this being the third show in a row the band still gave all as the hits kept coming 'Livin' Without You', 'Love Bomb Baby' and 'Noize Level Critical' kept the crowd going whilst a stirring, emotional sing-a-long tribute to deceased bass player Pepsi Tate 'Heaven' brought a tear to a few eyes in the crowd.

 After a rampant jaunt through 'Long Live the New Flesh' from the Thrill Pistol album the band took a short break from the stage allowing Robin to show exactly why he is in demand a hi-energy player as he soloed along to a backing track made up of air raid sirens and a pounding electro-bass line.

I've seen Robin play on many occasions and I've never seen him drop a stick but tonight a couple of bits of wood went awry to his amusement. I wonder could he have been feeling the beady eye of former drummer, Ace Finchum who had turned up to watch the band much to the delight of many fans of a certain age who have fond memories of Ace's time with the band.

As the band returned to the stage to the strains and Kim Hooker lead the crowd in a one man singalong of 'Lick it Up' the band readied themselves to take us into the homestretch with an energy and a perfomance belying the onstage difficulties and closing the set with Jay Pepper's 'Robocop' set piece and a monstrously HUGE 'Dirty Needles'.

Answering the calls from the crowd the band took to the stage once more for a spirited cover of KISS favourite 'Deuce' and whipped the crowd into a heaving, sweating, clapping frenzy with final number 'Call of the Wild'.

Despite the bands consternation with the onstage sound the front of house mix was passable, certainly it could have been better but on the whole it was a loud, sweaty, rock and roll show as only Tigertailz can deliver. I just hope they don't leave it as long next time...

SIDESHOW TOYS' JASON VOORHEES 1/6 FIGURE (FRIDAY 13TH PART III)

The world of 1/6 scale figures is a strange one. A worldwide web of people manufacturing relatively small runs of custom headsculpts, clothing and accessories. Amazing works for the most part. Collectors banding together to get the figures that they always dreamed of without a company paying the big bucks for the licence.

A niche market in an already niche market of adult collectables, for the last decade or so Sideshow Collectables have been arguably the biggest name in the game providing US & UK distribution for other companies as well as  producing their own products.

The rise of the Far East Companies such as Hot Toys, Medicom and Enterbay in the past 5 years has been meteoric with the quality of the figures and sculpts taking immeasurable leaps forwards with realistic skin texture, body builds, paint jobs and the tailoring of the outfits getting better all the time.

However, back in the early 2000's there was only one place to go for your one-sixth fix. Sideshow Toys.

In 2003 Horror fans like myself nearly wet our pants with excitement when the announcement was made that Sideshow would be releasing figures under a 'House of Horror' banner. One of these figures was my own personal dream figure. A figure of Jason Voorhees from Friday 13th Part III.

This was the movie that introduced the iconic Hockey Mask look to the world, a watershed moment for modern horror and also, capturing the last wave of the older technology, shot in 3-D. Old school red/green 3D and featuring many 3D tricks that add to the fun of the movie when watching in in good old 2D with friends. To this day I have never seen it in 3D but imagine it to have been a fantastic experience at the time.

As a younger man this was one of the very first horror films that I was able to see and therefore holds a very special place in my heart.

The price of this figure was $40.00 which now in the days of 1/6 figures costing upwards of $200.00 almost seems like a giveaway and to me, as I hope to show you, the figure can still hold its own among even recent releases.

Put together on the Sideshow 'Big Boy' buck the figure stands at just over 13 inches tall with the bulk added by way of padding underneath the costume.

This doesn't look anywhere near as bad as, on paper, it should and gives the figure, to the eye, the correct shape and build for Richard Brooker's onscreen appearance as Pamela's little boy.

This was also something that I feel was lost on the subsequent releases of the incarnations from the other movies. None of them, bar the Freddy vs Jason release had the imposing build that this masked marauder needs.

Decked out in a blood spattered workshirt, boots and pants with the trademark machete and hockey mask. This figure is the ultimate in iconic representations of a character. The tailoring on the clothing is still really good showing the care for the figures that used to be de-rigeur for Sideshow.

 

Adding to the 'look' of Jason from the movie is a pair of sculpted hands that really capture the way the hands are held by the actor adding a subtle yet awesome dimension to the ‘realism’ of the product.

Under the mask however is where the figure truly comes alive with an excellent sculpt that is easily comparable to the most up to date figure releases.

The hideous, disfigured form of Jason is where this figures truly shines and the facial expression is perfectly captured, taken from the reveal in the last ditch attempt at escape from the third act of the movie.

The figure originally came with a specific ‘Part 3’ stand but I long ago changed it out so that all of my Jason’s were on uniform stands. However, it was the standard sideshow type stand as you see pictured below enabling you to grip the figure around the waist for steadiness and hide the holder underneath the clothing.

This was, quite simply, Sideshow hitting their stride before the game-changing days of the Star Wars license acquisition when they still retained the feel of a ‘garage workshop’ but married that up with a look and a corporate environment that was all their own.

Nearly a decade later it remains one of my all-time favourite pieces in my collection and is still one of the more sought after figures from Sideshow’s past on the secondary market.

Pick one up if you can find it…it’s worth every penny but it’s unlikely you’ll find one at retail price these days.