SUPERSUCKERS + THE WITCHDOKTORS @ VOLKS, BRIGHTON, 11TH APRIL 2025
I was really surprised to hear that Supersuckers were playing a venue as small as Volks! Naturally, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them, especially as The Witchdoktors were supporting them. Two perfectly matched bands would make for a superb Friday night of live rock ‘n’ roll, which, of course, it was.
The Witchdoktors: Maximum R&B, Minimal Boundaries
The Witchdoktors comment on what a lovely day it has been and then tell us that they’ve arrived to ruin it for us. Perfect!!! It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, so I’m glad to get that particular itch scratched. I’ve heard The Witchdoktors described in various ways previously – ‘pub rock’ being an accusation that’s been levelled at them. However, they remind me most of the original Dr Feelgood, but on steroids. Any perceived barrier between the band and audience is unceremoniously booted down during the first couple of minutes of first song Tie Me Up as singer Andy Last charges into the audience. He gurns into phone cameras whilst continuing to play. He’s clearly a man who’s comfortable with the concept of multi-tasking.
Bassist Lee Page wears a fingerless glove on his right hand. I’m sure that there must be some sensible technical reason for this. Or maybe there isn’t! Jackhammer features a storming guitar solo. This time, guitarist Tony Major is in the audience. This is a band that truly believes in communing with its people. Spanner In The Works is a new song which is going to be on their next album. Unfortunately, recording has had to be paused as their producer, Pat Collier, sadly passed away. It’s a cracking tune – punky reggae which speeds up towards the end.
Big Black Bag is “a bit of a murder ballad”. I can’t quite see Nick Cave singing it, but I know what Andy means. During I’m Sick guitarist Tony plays an ace harmonica solo, which again brings my Dr Feelgood comparison bubbling to the surface. Voodoo Eye, from the band’s most recent album, features Andy Last sliding his guitar across his mic stand, whilst Tony Major lets rip with a cool slide solo.
All good things come to an end, and The Witchdoktors’ set comes to a close with Before the War. At the beginning of the song, Andy gives his guitar to a seemingly random audience member to play while he goes walkabout in the crowd. The guy knows the chords to the song, so he clearly isn’t that random! This has been a cracking set.
Supersuckers: The World’s Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band?
It’s now time for the main reason that we’re all here: Supersuckers are about to take the stage. I look at the setlist, and quite frankly, I can’t make head or tail of it. It’s more of a broad guide to what they might play. They play what they want to play, which is brilliant because you can virtually guarantee that they will enjoy what they’re playing, and if the band enjoy it, you can bet your life that the audience will too.
Volks may be a small venue, but it’s rammed. If it isn’t sold out, it’s got to be pretty close. Bassist and vocalist Eddie Spaghetti (aka Edward Daly) is the only remaining original member in the band. However, guitarist “Metal” Marty Chandler has been in the band for sixteen years, and drummer Christopher von Streicher has been a member for thirteen years, so it’s a more than stable lineup. Eddie Spaghetti has the most battered Les Paul bass I’ve ever seen. It sounds pretty good, though. Marty shows early on that he is a consummate guitar hero. During All Of The Time, he plays his guitar above his head, and then just with his left hand. Pretty cool, right? There will be a lot more of this to come.
One thing that Supersuckers aren’t is short of a sense of humour. Eddie Spaghetti introduces them as “the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world”. Indeed, they even have a compilation album called “How The Supersuckers Became The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World”, so it must be true! Tonight, they play a song called Rock ‘n’ Roll Records (Ain’t Selling This Year). You just know that somebody from a record company somewhere has at some point told them that. They appreciate that there’s a place in the set of any long-running band for nostalgia, and with that in mind, they play the first song (Coattail Rider) from their first album, The Smoke Of Hell, which was released in 1992. Eddie is “surprised at how much it still kicks ass”. It certainly does.
However, there’s more to Supersuckers than nostalgia: there’s new music too, and they play their latest single Maybe I’m Just Messin’ With You. It’s three minutes of ass-kicking rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe with some luck, it’s the precursor for a new album, something that Supersuckers haven’t given to the world for five years. It’s about time, guys. Eddie tells us to download the single for free, because “we’re not even trying to sell it”.
A Supersuckers show is a many-splendored thing, and you really don’t know where it’s going next. One thing I do know, having had a sneak preview of the setlist, is that Metal Marty has his own section of the show, and we now plunge headlong into it. As a special treat, we briefly visit Marty’s solo album, Metal Marty’s Greatest Hits, which is a Supersuckers album in all but name, as Marty is backed by none other than Eddie Spaghetti and Chris von Streicher. First up we get Workin’ My Ass Off, which is a tale of everyday working people. It shows that Marty has a fine metal voice, incidentally. Next up we get the country rock flavoured Goddamn Divorce. Marty asks if any of us have gone through a divorce. Quite a few people put their hands up. He asks if anyone is considering a divorce. Quite a few more people put their hands up!!! Marty’s section ends with Idaho, Baby! This bears more than a passing resemblance to Rock ‘n’ Roll Part 2 by G*ry Gl*tt*r. Indeed, Supersuckers seem to have something of a fixation for early 1970s UK glam rock, as You Ain’t The Boss Of Me from the Play That Rock ‘n’ Roll bears a similarly close resemblance to Can The Can by Suzi Quatro.
Normal (?) service is resumed with a return to the Supersuckers catalogue. There’s a new song, but Eddie doesn’t deign to tell us what it’s called. There’s a song which may be called Supersucker Drive-By Blues. There’s tapping in the solo, and Marty plays with his guitar behind his head. Well, if it was good enough for Hendrix…… Thankfully, he doesn’t try to play his guitar with his teeth. I can just see the broken teeth and blood on the stage. The set naturally ends with Born With A Tail. There’s no encore. Towards the end of the set, Eddie tells us that their music “is not for everyone”. I don’t see why not. If you like your rock on the heavier side, Supersuckers are about the most fun you can have with your clothes on—a proper rock band. Tonight, there was absolutely nothing not to like. Get back over this side of the pond soon, guys!
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
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