Gig Review: Fire Engines: 28.04.06 Edinburgh Liquid Rooms

The Sun Ra Arkestra are headlining tonight, and their live set is excellent. But, despite all I have heard about this legendary group, I am not here to see them. I am here to see the Fire Engines. Between 1979 and 1981, the Fire Engines burst on the Edinburgh music scene, released a clutch of fantastic singles and one mini album, played incendiary 15 minute gigs, and split up. Now they are back, however briefly, and I would seriously urge everyone to jump at a chance to see them live while you can, because they may not be together for much longer. Because the 20 minute set they play tonight is possibly the most thrilling, visceral and intense live music experience I have ever had. Traditional band staples such as 'Get Up And Use Me', 'Discord' and 'New Things In Cartons' are totally wired - invested with all the passion and energy the band can muster, the band sound right at the edge between chaos and control. But the band are very much in control. None of the band members are conventionally technically briliant, but tonight, the interplay between Graham Main's funk-influenced bass, Russell Burn's primitive and unconventional drumming, and especially the warped guitar herioics of Davy Henderson and Murray Slade achieves a twisted kind of virtuosity. The guitarists eschew traditional chords in favour of spiky, dissonant riffs and atonal No-Wave soloing. The end result is experimental music that is kinetic, fun and utterly exhilarating. The short sets are intentionally designed to cram twice as much excitement into half the time - something they easily achieve. In fact, 'quality over quantity' seems to be a recurring theme with the Fire Engines: from their recorded output (which in total amounts to about an hour's worth of material) to their shows, they do not so much burn brightly as explode. 'We want to give you more,' Davy Henderson comments half way through the set. In so many ways, they have.