THE SURE FIRE MIDNIGHTS
INDI BAR, Scarborough
Friday 18 June 2010

STILLFIRE are headlining tonight’s gig at the Indi Bar, perched on the edge of the Indian Ocean, but we’re here to reacquaint ourselves with SURE FIRE MIDNIGHTS in advance of their recording and touring plans for the rest of the year.

Stillfire are a hirsute and soulful classic rock behemoth and it’s easy to see why singer Gabriel Lee’s voice – emotive, resonant and powerful – is held in such high regard by punters and musos alike. We’ll be seeing and talking to Stillfire before Gabriel jets off to support The Tea Party’s Jeff Martin on a Canadian tour, so let’s focus on our reason for venturing out into the rain tonight.

The Sure Fire Midnights have been around in one form or another since 2005, honing their skills and juggling members as they evolved into the well oiled, tight as fuck rock juggernaut they are today.

Turbo charged illegitimate daughters of The Runaways, AC/DC and The Donnas, the Sure Fire Midnights celebrated founding member Kylie Soanes’ birthday tonight with a confident and impressive set of hair shaking rockers with the assured swagger of the Stones and the whirlwind fury of a cyclone.

Originals like ‘Lock Up Your Sons’, ‘Sure Fire’ and ‘Over The Edge’ have been given a new lease of life with the new line-up, guitarists Sharni Pearson-Misisch and Laura McCormack playing off each other effortlessly while drummer Kylie and little sister Abby form a rock solid rhythm section.

Singer Clair Sargeant makes The Runaways ‘I Love Playing With Fire’ her own while the elder Soanes sister indulges in some cowbell abuse and these queens of noise won me over completely with a searing version of my favourite Thin Lizzy track, ‘Cold Sweat’.

The girls are currently writing new material in advance of recording their second full length album later in the year, and with a possible high profile tour rumoured, might just be on the verge of a breakthrough. (Keep your eyes on The Rockpit for more details as soon as the news is official!) They have the songs, the attitude and the skills to go far – there’s no reason The Sure Fire Midnights can't achieve the same level of success as The Donnas with a few lucky breaks. Catch them while you can!

Shane Rockpit