Concert Review: Falling in love with The Buzzcocks

Led by bookend dour and dynamic original members, guitarists Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle respectively, quartet rammed through over 20 tunes.

By DAVID BRINN
Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks311 (photo credit: Avihai Levy)
Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks311
(photo credit: Avihai Levy)
Seminal British punk band The Buzzcocks proved Tuesday night at Tel Aviv’s Barbie Club that all you really need is one great name, two guitars, threeminute songs and four “whoas” in the chorus to recreate the magic days of 1977.
Led by the bookend dour and dynamic original members, guitarists Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle respectively, the quartet rammed through over 20 tunes from their rich songbook at a breakneck pace that belied their age, including venerable favorites like “Fast Car,” “I Don't Know What to Do with My Life,” “Harmony in My Head” and of course, “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).”
The music wasn’t the only thing that recalled the heyday of punk, with security guards throwing moshers off the stage and one scuffle breaking out on the side of the stage during the last song that had even the band straining their heads to watch.
At the end of the tumult, Shelley called out “Remember, be good to each other.” The Buzzcocks were sure good to us.