Photo : Per-Ake Warn
www.monokrom-photos.com

Thirty years ago, thirty years ago to the very day, the original power couple of electro-goth, Nik Fiend and his wife, erm, Mrs Fiend, unveiled their psychedelic horror show for the first, and for what they admit they believed would also be the last, time. And somehow they�re still here, thirty years on. And it�s time for a party.

The years drop away like the limbs of a zombie who�s just had Bruce Campbell show up unannounced with a chainsaw... within the first couple of songs it�s like a particularly weird episode of Dr Who, where we�ve all been sent back in time and it�s the golden age of Fiendishness again... A swirling morass of psychobilly guitars, electro beats, horror visuals and punk attitude. And it�s only when you hear them all back to back again that you remember just how many great songs Alien Sex Fiend have. �Smells Like��, �Dead And Buried,� �Now I�m Feeling Zombiefied�� and it seems like they play them ALL in an insane three-hour marathon.... and it�s PRETTY FUCKING SWEET.

By the end, when there are thank-you speeches and the offer of cake (yeah, cake! Remember, kids, it�s a made-up drug�), Nik�s a king celebrating his jubilee bedecked in razor wire and drowning in stage blood, and it�s all just about as awesome as you could possibly want it to be.

I know you never went away, but welcome back anyway, Nik. And the Mrs.

Written by DEUTERONEMU 90210
(whose brain is now in the cupboard!)

Read the Frequency review in full

Thanks to Frequency

Nik Fiend, Mrs Fiend (background), Doc Milton (silhouette)

Nik Fiend & the famous "IT" book
(it looks as if Mrs Fiend's hand is working Nik via the top of his hat! -
It's a PUPPET !!!)
Photo credit : Ben Guiver

I think we've all only just got over quite what a monumental night the 1st December 2012 was! The original plan - although admittedly it was a bit vague (!) - was that we'd play 2 sets of around 90 minutes each, with an intermission (30 mins or so?) about half way through.... BUT on the night there was news that there was some sort of breakdown on the Underground / Tube trains.... bugger! Everyone was concerned that if we kicked off our first set at the planned time a lot of people were going to miss a lot of IT... SO it was decided to delay proceedings & instead of us getting a "lie down" during the 30 minutes intermission we were gonna hafta keep rocking for a full 3 hours.... could we do it?? OF COURSE! It's The Fiends you're talking about here!! We ain't wimps! We can pass out afterwards instead!... Eventually we got the word that the trains were back in action - wahey! - & off we went stage-wards....

We can only feel humbled by all the support Alien Sex Fiend has had over all these years! Fiend fans came from far & wide for this final gig of 2012 A.D. & our 30th Anniversary Show, they had travelled from South Africa, the U.S.A., Germany, France, Holland, Ireland.... & that's just the ones that we heard of, or managed to say hi to post show. And wot a nite IT woz! A right ol' knees-up. FINALLY we got to play freely without hitting a curfew & runnin' outta time... we ended up playing for 3 hours 20 minutes, which for us flew past as quick as anyfing... Mrs Fiend even managed to get her geetar strapped on & fuzz us out of existence wiv "My Brain Is In The Cupboard" from 1987 followed by the very first ASF tune "Boneshaker Baby" from 1982 (!) which turned the Dome into a full-on mosh pit - pulsating psychobilly reverberations a go-go... The gig elevated us to new heights, beyond anyfing I could have thought... or expected... - a huge THANK YOU goes to our crew "The Space Cadets" (both old & new) who all came together from across the UK & Europe to help put on such an amazing & memorable gig .

It was fantastic to meet up / work with all sorts of people that we've known since our early days... some were at that very first Batcave gig! During the after show party we got to do a bit of a meet n greet - thanks to everyone who brought us various presents, cheers (hic!) to Alec & Tina for the back-stage champagne, to Debbie, Phil, Porl & Gail, to Tez for "being there", & to the audience who joined in the night's celebrations.

30 years of The Fiend, wow doesn�t time fly, like a bat! I have loved this band for a very long time myself and had been looking forward to this somewhat rare performance from the Fiend, one that was going to be a celebration and one that was going to be host to many of their great songs from the past as well as no doubt a smattering of newer ones. The stage looked absolutely fantastic, dressed to the hilt with the accoutrements of the Fiend�s stage show. It was littered with webs and bones and bins and dolls and all manner of ghastly things that were no doubt going to be put to use later. I have fond memories of being almost brained by a plastic bone launched off the stage at the Whitby Dracfest back in (apparently) 1997.

The sound it has to be said was fantastic, the clarity of it all brilliant. Things were bouncing us about like a spring loaded, booby trapped trampoline and it did not take much to get the crowd dancing away to the songs that we all knew and loved. Strobes and lights mesmerised us and massive bursts of pulsating energy blew out the speakers and to cap it all the singer decided to roll around the stage, not acting his age in the slightest. For every up there is a down but �Manic Depression� - yep some of us do get it every day - had me grinning like a loon. We had been told to expect some numbers that had not been played in many a moon and one I cannot even remember if I have ever heard live was �In And Out Of My Mind� wow, was really not expecting that and indeed it is still there, working its way around what little mind I have left. The depressive, repetitive beats backed up the ghostly pulsating atmosphere nicely.

Nik took brief time out to thank us all for coming and as ever acted with a noticeable humble demeanour as chuffed as we were that they were still doing this after three decades. White noise and full on epilepsy inducing strobes took us to another dimension, no other word can sum it up better that �wow!�. �Bats In The Belfry, meet me at the altar, like a little lamb lead me to the slaughter.� Did anyone here not know the words to Attack? Doubtful by the sound of it and if the band had an anthem would it possibly be their Bela Lugosi? I think it is very likely and judging by the reaction it was a song we expected and the one that ASF probably could not have got away leaving out their set. We seriously did the bossanova!

Gig of the year!

Written by Pete Woods

Read the Ave Noctem review in full

Thanks to Ave Noctem

Mat "Pod" in background with a blood splattered Doc Milton
Photo credit : Pete Woods

Venue : The Boston Dome
Address : 2 Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HL
(above Boston Arms) directly opposite Tufnell Park Tube station.
Doors open : 19.00h (7 pm)
Tickets : £18-50 (advance)
Ticket Websites : Tickets are on sale NOW from the following
(Online booking fees vary)

	www.eeetickets.com (Paypal & credit card payment options)
	www.ticketweb.co.uk or phone 08444 771 000
	musicnonstop.co.uk or phone 0113 275 1374 (Paypal, credit & debit card payment options)
	stargreen.com or phone 020 7734 8932

Mrs Fiend : We want to play as many songs as we can & of course we will play some of the tunes from that very first Batcave gig so there will be some surprises to delight yer lug oles... & I will be using some of the very same analogue equipment as I did back then in '82...We aim to finish before midnight - so that people can catch trains - though the actual times are still to be finalised. (Info on times will be posted up along side the flyer above - ASF Webmaster) But there will be an after-show party with DJs for those who want to party on into the night....

As for the venue - well the problem with a lot of London venues on a Saturday night is that they have "club" events after a live gig, & the owners want the whole gig to finish by 10pm (hah!) - so that they can turn the venue into a late-night club. & problem #2 with that is they tend NOT be "alternative" music clubs either! - more the "house" sort (oh dear) - so that would mean ending the party at 10pm - nope, don't think so!!! But at The Dome venue the celebrations can continue until 2am!!!

Nik Fiend : & like many things in the world of ASF - there is a coincidence with this venue - cos Tufnell Park in London is where me n Mrs Fiend used to live when we first got together!