Ryan's Gig Guide

Eerie Ink, is a tattoo studio on George St. Walsall which conceals a horror- themed hidden gem of a music venue. By Fat Bloke with No Tattoos You enter into a small, dark reception area and are confronted by a plethora of skull imagery, freaky dolls’ heads and severed things on shelves & walls and a ceiling cov- ered in b-movie & gig posters, somewhat reminiscent of the Boars Head Kidder- minster before its 2017 makeover. After a brief chat with some friendly staff, I went looking for the gig room. By-passing a kitchen area, I wandered up some stairs & found myself in a tattooing area. After a swift exit, I discovered that the gig room was through the kitchen and out of the back door. The gig was in a large, heated wooden out-building adorned in a similar horror/punk theme to the one I'd en- countered in the reception area. Bottled booze & non-booze was available via a hatch in one corner. Also outside was a seating area which, though not very ap- pealing on a freezing cold night in March, will surely be a real asset come the warmer months! Martian Social Club songs touch on every- day happenings such as the Greggs Steak bake, Rover 2000 and trips to the local sewage works. It doesn't end there though, the band pay h-omage to numer- ous wonders of the animal kingdom like the sturgeon, plankton & lamprey and local legends such as Akka the massive pike and Bingo & Bungo the pet guinea pigs. Each song had a homemade video/anima- tion to accompany it. So mesmerising were the videos that I often found myself watching the screen for far too long and forgetting to listen to the words - soz!The highlight of the night for me was undoubt- edly during "Where have all the finches gone”, when singerAl Monde, removed an understated white befeathered top hat, replacing it with what I can only describe as a shrine to the aforementioned finch fashioned from a sink plunger which he licked and stuck to his head.Throw in the free, mid-set Easter egg raffle and it has to be one of the best gigs I've ever been to. Above all the avant-garde dadaist lyrical content and stage props, the music is full- on guitar-driven power-rock played by ex- ceptional musicians and I bloody love it!  4th MAY Catch them at the Gunmakers Arms, Bath Street, Birmingham REVIEW: Martian Social Club Eerie Ink, Walsall 31st March www.martiansocialclub.co.uk | www.eerieink.co.uk www.ryansgigguide.com rgg May 2018 37