Return of the rat

It was only a couple of years ago, give or take a month, that I was enjoying the autodestructing sounds of The Girlfriends in the basement of Matt Cosgrove's then-residence and enjoying being bashed on the knee by Wolfgang's guitar somewhat less. In the intervening years The Girlfriends have played wild shows across the city, but a short while ago they broke up. Out of the ashes have emerged Rat Tales, featuring Sammy, Wolfgang, Coupe De Ville (from The Mistress and Rottaway) and Luke. Their sound seems more focussed, but the easily alarmed might still want to avoid the front row ...

Let's go! With Luke and Sammy (probably plotting evil).



Coupe sings!



Everyone gets stripes, but Wolfgang decided to pass on the shirt.



Sammy frets!



Fisheye action!



Sammy sings!



Faceoff action!



Wolfgang sings!



Luke sings!



Shakin' around!



More shakin' around!



The shouty bit!



Audience participation action!



And know for some shoulder-riding. First, get on your bassist, which in Sammy's case involves first standing on one's head.



And away we go!



Some extra singers were recruited from the crowd.



Better get in another Luke shot while I still have a clear line of sight.



And yes, there's more shoulder-riding.



Followed by falling down and rolling around.



The end!



I hope to hear more, and soon.

• Show reminder: Gramercy Riffs, The Allrights and Charlotte Cornfield are upstairs at Cafe Dekcuf, while Junior Boys, Miracle Fortress and Huren are downstairs at Mavericks; another swell option is Capital Grass & The No-Men at Zaphod's, with Mark Martyre and Justice R.F.; Kate Maki and Fred Squire are each unleashing an album at Raw Sugar; Wise, Young & King, Mayday! Mayday! and Sky of Sound raise the alarm at the Rainbow; The Dead Bees and The Jimmyriggers perform at the Elmdale; Claude Munson and The Bellweathers can be heard at the Avant-Garde Bar. Nomadic Massive, Daughters of The Revolution and Rakkatak & DJ Prufrock are at Barrymore's.