The Dublin Castle, London
17th April 1999
Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Quintron is a genuine musical eccentric – but more on him in a moment. First up was partner Miss Pussycat and her amazing puppet show. Presented from inside a pink and glittery puppet booth, Springtime In Yeahsville follows other such masterpieces of performance puppet Electronica as her Flossie And The Unicorns album and show. Resplendent in a bizzare mauve and gingham catsuit and Southern-style straight-legged suit respectively, Miss P. and Mr. Q. dived into the booth to present the everyday story of the life of bees in a small archetypal puppet town, where the cars are futuristic, the mountains prone to volcanic explosion and a band has the problem of both the scarey monster and the wicked witch Crispy Cornflake to contend with. Still, the monster was vanquished, its cardboard box head falling off in a spectactular stunt, and the arrival of the Queen Bee (Quintron again, in shades and bee costume) for the finale brought a certain regal splendour to the proceedings.
With a lightning reshuffle on the tiny stage, Quintron and Pussycat took their places for the main event – Q. on Hammonds and an assortment of vintage electronics, P. on the best-(radio-?)miked maracas ever. Opening with the smoothly swirling triumph of “Meet You At The Clubhouse” from his most recent release These Hands Of Mine, Quintron (having slipped off his white winkle-pickers for better foot-pedal playing) put on a show and half. A virtuoso of the keyboard and a consumate showman/show-off, he spun through his swamp-Rock and Roll repertoire (with more than the odd nod to Jerry Lee Lewis) like a man possessed, all the while accompanied by his ever-grinning (like a loon or a children’s TV presenter) Miss Pussycat. Demented, grandiose, even slightly alarming, the duo put on a lengthy show which only lacked some variety.
With a prolonged demonstration of his unique light-operated oscillator as an encore, all doubts were instantly removed. Underscored by an old and broken drum machine to provide a quasi-phat beat, Quintron even contrived to scratch and rewind with the rotating cylinder which acts as the trigger mechanism for the device, making a strange sound and an even stranger sight. With a remarkable instrument and an equally odd repertoire, it only remains to be seen if he can come back with The Oblivions – for a full-on Gospel sound.
-Antron S. Meister-
