The Warlocks @ The Fez, Gun Street, Reading, Wednesday 25th June 2003:

All of a sudden they appeared in the darkness. No introduction, just a raw rasping electric strum to herald that The Warlocks had arrived, and that they were going to blow your head off.

The seven-piece band, with two drummers and four guitarists, filled the stage. Neon flickering lights silhouetted their black tousled mops, black clothes and cigarette smoke.

Immediately their slow throbbing psychedelic music penetrated through the crowd, with slow rhythmic synchronised drums and drawn-out swirling guitar drones - this is music that wears shades.

The songs they played from their first British album release Phoenix has that Velvet Underground sixties stoned energy - including Hurricane Heart Attack, Cosmic Letdown and Red Rooster.

But in all the Californian septet have an added electronic grind and a darker zoning out, and in complete contrast to Lou Reed, singer Bobby Hecksher has a high whiny voice that was sometimes swamped by the fuzzy roar behind him.

Bobby is a quiet frontman who looks troubled yet weirdly alluring. His black eyeshadow and lipstick on his thick-necked frame looked quite Izzard, and his intense guitar playing is coupled with constant jerky knee-bending - making him a strangely fixating character.

The Warlocks seemed completely preoccupied with their own music, they acted pretty much as though the audience wasn't there by resolutely ignoring the warm clapping and cheering after each tune. However near the end Bobby managed a quiet 'thank you very much'.

The live versions of the songs may not be as clean as on their album but it is only on stage that you realise how well they harness this immense musical power they have unleashed. The gig for me was utterly captivating and almost hypnotic, especially during their deliciously sleazy long instrumentals, some lasting up to ten minutes.

Apparently this was their last small-venue gig, and I feel truly privileged to have experienced it.