Although definitely not the largest crowd I’ve seen at the Annandale, The pub had a great vibe on Thursday night. The place was full of enthusiastic Trans Am fans and all were bulging with excitement at seeing one of the more influential acts of the ‘90s.

Unfortunately, they were summarily blown from their post-rock pond by The Fucking Champs. Sounding like Van Halen on mescalin, they had me transfixed from beginning to end.

With only two guitars and a drummer, they were truly entertaining. The music is mostly written around and conforms to complex and varied drum patterns. This leads to very unique form for each guitar line, flowing up and down along with the drum fills as opposed the other way around as is normally the case in most rock music. And what a drummer! So confident that he almost looked bored, but coming up some of the most creative and engaging patterns I’ve heard in a long time. Their approach is very fresh and this, sadly, only served to highlight the fact that Trans Am can no longer be described using that adjective.

Formed in 1995 in San Fransisco, The Fucking Champs have released a few small-scale recordings, which are quite hard to find but are available at their shows. Although cast as a metal act, they have a predominantly indie audience, sitting more comfortably at the heavier end of this genre and are directly compared with Trans Am who they have been touring with for some time. Except for the fact that they are both mainly instrumental and a part of the rock scene, I cannot agree with this comparison. While Trans Am were interesting enough, their similarities to Joy Division, Yes and New Order have nothing to do with the grinding flourishes of guitar and percussion that The Fucking Champs deliver – perfect for anyone who loves a good guitar but does not particularly enjoy all this retro business.

Now to Trans Am. While certainly not awful, they are simply dated. That part of rock innovation of which they were, has now found it’s way into the commonplace and did not stir a single emotion in my musical heart. They do put on an interesting show and a fun vibe, with a lot of animated jumping around, instrument swapping and the like, but I like to be inspired when I see a band and I most certainly was not inspired by these boys. Although fun, they hardly deserve the cult following I witnessed last Thursday. Formed in 1990 in Washington DC, they have developed a quirky approach to sardonic music making and this has obviously suited many a punter. There was a niche and they have filled it with gusto. If you like an ironic twist to your music, check out their self-titled album, produced by Tortoise’s John McEntire.

However, the best act I saw that night was the combination of both bands – that’s right Fucking Am! With the drummer from The Fucking Champs on guitar and the other two guitarists also playing, the front-man for Trans Am jumping about on the mike and the other two members doing their usual thing. The sound was very big and a perfect blend of the two styles. I believe that they should get an album out for Fucking Am. The sometimes-crazy undulations of The Fucking Champs coupled with the manic synth sounds of Trans Am; they’ve really hit on something. Best act of the night.

In conclusion, The Fucking Champs are obviously fucking champs. Trans Am however, are just a model of car that was popular some time ago.

Four out of Five fists-in-the-air for the Champs, two out of five for Trans Am.