Pistol & Jack: SMASH*GLAM*SEX*MUSIC
Live Review

Pistol is a pop-loving American Jewish Princess with daddy issues and point to prove, Jack is a promiscuous Cockney rocker, raised by Jackals. Together they make... well, something of a mess.

The second comedy mash-up band in Assembly 3 every night (after Rayguns Look Real Enough), Pistol and Jack’s musical numbers are often a cacophonous jumble, with their two diverse styles competing too much. Occasionally it does work – I suspect you could lay any lyrics over The Passenger bassline – but mostly it sounds forced. There’s clearly a reason why no one thought to marry My Lumps with Bigmouth Strikes Again before now.

Sometimes they sing over each other, too, so you can hear neither the track clearly. It’s a habit they also have in the between-song banter filling out their backstory, simultaneously speaking as they row over their version of events, leaving the audience behind.

The set-up is that they met in some dive of an American bar, she singing in an open-mic night, him collapsed over the speakers after a drink-and-drug bender. They are effective at vividly describing their life stories and exposing their psychological issues... although actual acting often proves beyond them. But these stories are ultimately only mildly amusing.

Combine that with noisy, frenetic music and their annoying bickering, and this becomes a show that you could easily miss, despite their offbeat charm.