Giant Drag bid us farewell on their final tour, Getintothis’ Joseph Viney wished they would drag their heels over early retirement instead.
Giant Drag’s Annie Hardy looks like a troublemaker.
Her slight frame, elven facial features and high-pitched girly voice don’t hide the fact that she could probably rip your heart out, eat it and then write an insulting song about you before you knew what had happened.
The point is: don’t judge a book by its cover. This foul-mouthed bundle of joy curses bandmates past and present, squeaks out bizarre stories and spits on stage.
It’s all so alluring in its own weird way.
There’s a palpable sense of disappointment in the room that Giant Drag are indeed leaving us.
Although they were never the most prolific band when it came to releases, Hardy and whoever she hadn’t fought with that week remained a curious and memorable group.
Debut album Hearts & Unicorns was a great lesson in fuzzy-guitar rock, the bouncy music belying titles such as You Fuck Like My Dad, High Friends In Places and My Dick Sux.
Although the Kazimier was filled quite adequately, the show had a very intimate feel. Hardy’s strange on-stage between song narratives appeared as if we in the audience were being confided in.
On sale at the merch stand were hand-made guitar knobs and pedal decorations, crafted by Hardy herself. It’s essentially a one-woman operation.
Giant Drag at the Kazimier, Liverpool
Tonight’s set is one of many shades. Opening with a quartet of ridiculously good songs (We Like The Weather, Garbage Heart, This Isn’t It, You Fuck Like My Dad) it soon segues into a solo acoustic set.
Pausing to spit on stage, Hardy then rips into a former bandmate via the song Dennis The Pennis. It’s a little jarring, but it’s all part of the fun.
The energy is ramped back up for buzzing runs through Cordial Invitation, White Baby and Do It (“a song about doing it“).
An encore-that-isn’t-an-encore (i.e. they don’t leave the stage, but acknowledge it’s the final leg of the gig. It’s all very post-modern these days, isn’t it?) provides a cover of Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game and the blinding Kevin Is Gay.
Just like that it’s all over, literally and figuratively. It’s a crying shame.
Pictures by Getintothis’ Ian Gamester.
Further reading on Getintothis:
Liverpool’s gig calendar 2013: Guide to essential gigs not to miss the rest of this year
Eels: O2 Academy, Liverpool
Allah-Las, The Merrylees, Mohebbi: Leaf Tea Shop, Liverpool
Buke & Gase, Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band: The Kazimier, Liverpool
Babyshambles: O2 Academy, Liverpool
