The first I heard of the Molotov Dragons or, Mickey and the Molotovs as I fondly call them, was via an email from singer MickeyLuv himself. Very tongue in cheek and certainly not an email to ignore. And then when Nige and myself were up at the Three Tuns taking some pictures for the Talk of the Tuns, the pub's very own magazine, we bumped into MickeyLuv who was singing a couple of songs at the Wednesday Buskers Night. He informed me that he had given a couple of support slots to local bands in the area who wanted to show off their talents: Shy Bairns followed by D-Day...........but although me and Nige tried to get there early, by the time I got in from work, got sorted and then over to Nige's, we didn't arrive at the Tuns until after 8.30. 

We needed to talk to Paul in the other room regarding his new magazine but made sure we didn't miss the opening song by the Molotov Dragons, who have only had a handful of gigs up to tonight.
 

But before I get into their set this is the line up of the band: Vocals: Michael Lavery (MickyLuv) – formerly of Thing Called Love, Unplug Guitar: Graeme Richardson (Rico) – formerly Thing Called Love, Kreep, Guitar: Lee Dobson, Bass: Nick Shaw – formerly Thing Called Love and drummer with SkaMania and Skullhead, Drums: Paul Hicks (Hicka) – formerly Thing Called Love, Kreep.
 

Unfortunately Nige was just getting over a chest infection and was not on top form (is he ever?!), and with the tablets he was taking then an alcoholic drink was out of the question too. Calling him Mr Miserable was doing one of the Mr Men an injustice! (yeah, okay there isn't a Mr Miserable, but for the sake of this review then there is - okay!). And to cap it all he had used an older worn-down battery in his camera. Think I'll put an ad on Riffs for someone to accompany me to gigs  - good sense of humour and be able to use a camera (oh, and lots of stamina).
 

There was a very healthy turnout and it was a pleasure to see so many people supporting live music. Anyway, the band describe themselves as 'cock rock' and then go and ruin my image by explaining the cock thing. Look, you don't need to explain anything about cock to me, alright. I've been around a bit and there is not much I don't know about poultry.

The band kicked off with Queen's We Will Rock You and before they - or anyone else - could get their breath went straight into It's So Easy.
 

It was only the third song in and I was starting to perspire profusely. Mind you, I was dry as a rock compared with the poor band who, even by this time, were sweating buckets. Not only that, but the sound left a lot to be desired, the instruments didn't sound too bad, but when the vocals kicked in then there was some distortion. The louder MickeyLuv's voice, the more distorted the sound from the speakers,
 

The band explained on stage that they had people back stage that helped get the band ready; sorting out their clothes and making sure all their gear was ready and waiting - they said these people were called 'fluffers' and there were positions available. I asked Nige if I would be a good fluffer and he said I would be perfect at it. So at the half time break I said I would gladly be a fluffer for each member of the band. Just can't understand the mixture of stunned silence and wide grins.................
 
 

It was back into the rockers for some Kiss and then the band switched on their 'punk' image for the Damned's New Rose. They seemed to suit the punk stuff better with their raw, hard-edged sound. And Nick's vocals suited the style perfectly and, for one minute, I really did believe he had a brand new rose in town na na na na.

Time to relax a bit between sets and cool down. No matter how cold it is outside, the Tuns always seems to be hot. A whip round to get some air con in there may not be a bad idea - what the hell, I just like the idea of a whip round!

No sooner had I rejected the many offers to wipe off the sweat from me than it was time to power back into the second set and some memorable tracks there were too, I loved Night Train and although the start of Teenage Kicks fell a tad short of what it should have been, the excitement and energy of the band made up for it. Monkey Wrench, Jumping Jack Flash, Keep your Hands Off My Woman and the band were getting sweatier by the minute.
 
 

Loved the Darkness first album so I appreciated Thing Called Love and MickeyLuv did manage to reach those high notes, which was quite a feat considering this was near the very end of a ninety minute set.

Aerosmith's Walk this Way finished the set and the crowd showed their appreciation quite vociferously.

The band gave their all and I could tell they were trying desperately to get on the ladder of reliable and respected rock bands who do the pub circuit regularly. But it don't come easy and all the ingredients are there; if they find their fairy godmother with a wadge of cash for a decent pa plus much needed monitors then I reckon we could see a contender for rockers of the north east.