After 3 years of waiting, I’ve finally seen Miss Black America
Goodness knows why Miss Black America aren’t huge yet. Not only do Bury St Edmunds’ finest have amazing songs and an energy-packed live show, but they’re one of the few bands around these days who actually have something to say. Beyond scrawling “Fair Trade” on their hand and naming their child Pomegranate, that is.
I’ve loved MBA since I first heard their early single Talk Hard back in about 2002, if memory serves. I’d never managed to catch them live yet, so their gig at Liverpool Barfly on Friday was a momentous occasion for me. It was only announced last minute after their scheduled Grimsby show was cancelled, so there were very few people beyond the die-hard fans. Even so, main man Seymour Glass (pictured) poured his heart out like it was a packed house.
As well as a selection of standout tracks from the first album, we were treated to songs from newie “Terminal”, most notably the guitar histrionics of “Dot Dot Dot”. Many would say it’s nothing more than cliché, but sometimes you really can’t beat a singer who throws himself around the stage and swings his low-slung guitar like there’s no tomorrow. Not only that, but I got to meet Seymour’s dad, who was acting as band driver, and regaled me with various bits of MBA trivia throughout the show . Plus, he gave me a free promotional lighter/bottle opener. I don’t drink or smoke (to paraphrase Adam Ant, “What do I do?”), but nonetheless – top bloke!
