If you’re new here, please excuse the dust while things get into full swing; this started out as a simple idea which has gathered momentum quicker than I expected so I’m scrambling a bit to catch up. (And hello visitors from Crewe Blog — thanks Jules!)
If you’re a Crewe venue or a band that’ll be playing in town soon and you don’t see yourself mentioned anywhere let me know and I’ll get the details up as soon as possible.
(Due to some gentle prodding I’ll post the words now and update with pictures later.)
Prog rock — you either love it or hate it (me, I can’t get enough!), but whichever side of the fence you’re on you should give Motion Theory a whirl; sounding a little like 100 Reasons might have done had they listened to more King Crimson in their formative years they may be the saviour of a dying art. Unlike some of the more "difficult" prog their catchy and accessible melodic rock wasn’t overwhelmed by gratuitously bizarre time signatures or weird chord progressions — it had just enough surprises to keep it interesting, but stayed sane enough that you can dance to it. Sadly most people will dismiss them purely on the basis of their chosen genre, but I give them a big thumbs up. (I’ve got a signed CD to give away, details to follow.)
The Sumo Kings have been covered at great length here before, and were the same as ever so I won’t go in to details again; they’re a bit too close to a prototypical indie band for my taste, but they’re good at what they do and have acquired a well-deserved dedicated local following.
Third off the blocks were Troops of Mafeking, another band who are no strangers to the Crewe scene; a more rock-driven sound than I recall from the last time I saw them, and with some well-written songs and a stalwart performance they were a pleasant surprise.
Finally headliners The Telegraphs hit the stage, but failed to live up to expectations — generic indie/rock stylings, and nothing that caught my ear particularly. Admittedly there had been a few delays in the show and they were on later than scheduled so they may just have had an off night, but they left me unimpressed.
(Due to some gentle prodding I’ll post the words now and update with pictures later.)
Another James and the Giant gig, another variation on the lineup — only a couple more and I’ll have collected the set! Despite a few moments where it was obvious they hadn’t quite worked out what to do to compensate for the loss of Steve on guitar it was another solid performance, the weak points being well covered by the well-crafted tunes — "Ordinary" still stands out to me as a great example of a disturbingly catchy number.
Following them were Hi Alert! with a slice of decent heavy blues-tinged rock delivered with exuberance; think Kings of Leon (back when they were good) or Paw and you’ll get a pretty good picture of their sound. (Can you get a picture of sound? Pedantic ed.) The final support act, The Academics, gave a solid performance and sounded a little like The Kooks, but on the whole they were another entry in a long line of almost indistinguishable indie kids.
With three good support acts to compete with, Doll and the Kicks still managed to steal the sow; lead singer Doll has been compared with Kate Bush and Gwen Stefani, and with good reason — her vocals have the mild eccentricity of the former combined with the power of the latter and the whole thing was held together by some irresistible indie pop tunes; they’re not perhaps destined for greatness, but they certainly deserve wide exposure. (I’ve got a signed CD to give away, details to follow.)
I’ve been in the sticks for a few days and connectivity here is nugatory at best; stuff from last week has been written up but I’m waiting until I get back to civilisation before making any attempt to post it — cjeck back later today or early tomorrow…
Due to some fire safety related shenanigans at the M Club, Studio Promo made a last minute move to the Box and I have to say it worked a lot better — although there were fewer people there due to the last minute change, the smaller capacity of the Box eliminated the M Club’s "if there are fewer than 200 people in attendance the place looks deserted" problems.
Musically this was also a step up from previous events; opening act Autumn Fall may have had a short career and ditched their female vocalist, but their second-to-last show went down pretty well. They don’t have much to set them apart from the rest of the herd, granted, but they’ve come a long way since I saw them earlier this year.
Next up were Smudge; due to some personnel problems they had to play as an impromptu acoustic duo, but despite a lack of preparation the pair gave a great performance. Never having heard them as a full band I obviously can’t draw any comparisons, but based on this low-key outing they certainly deserve further inspection.
I, Said the Spy were a little more polished but otherwise much the same as at their previous Studio outing back in July, and they have a pretty good sized loyal and exuberant fanbase — I’m too old and frail to get involved in the moshpit these days, but the crowd weren’t shy about starting a small barely-contained riot.
Finally it was the turn of Mexicofallz with a heady blend of chirpy electronic bleeps, frenzied guitars, and eardrum-shattering vocals formed the backdrop for their superb high-energy set; like a slightly less angry version of Future of the Left, the trod a finely tuned line between melody and noise yet maintained a surprisingly upbeat feel throughout. Definitely one to watch out for!
My source at the M is confident that it’ll be back to business as usual for this week, but it may be worth making sure before heading out…
The Sumo Kings‘ ever expanding dominion gets even larger with the announcement of their new residency-cum-club night at Square One. To quote from the press release:
Crewe will have its first ever indie club night when one of the town’s most popular bands launches an exciting new two-monthly event at Square One next month. The Mill Street venue will host Club Sumo – an indie and electro-themed club night which will feature a live show from the Sumo Kings and acoustic artist Jasmin Dean and all the best current and classic tunes from DJ Pelvis Resley.
The first event is on the 17th October, admission £3. Click here to download the flyer.
One thing I’ve noticed in the recent gigs I’ve been to (aside from the surprising number of indie bands that Stoke seems to produce) is that bands have an increasing tendency to forget there’s an audience — they’ll play to each other, the singer will stand on the drum riser and sing to the drummer, and the crowd rarely gets a look-in. While I’m not expecting bands to stare intently into the crowd, and while some interaction between the people on the stage is fine, there are limits. I’m sure if the audience all turned to face away from the band they’d get pretty cheesed off…
Grumbling aside, I’m doing my best to get back on track but I’ve been quite busy with other projects and this (as a non-paying endeavour) has had to slip a little; I’ve committed myself to at least half a dozen events over the next couple of weeks though, so normal servioce should be resumed etc. (Yes, yes, I’ve said it before. So sue me.)
I’ve finally recovered from what was something of a mammoth bank holiday weekend that’s going to take me a few days to cover fully, so I’ll start with the big event of the weekend, Live in the Park, and get to the others later.
While the soi disant main attractions of the event were X Factor “stars” Diana Vickers and Eoghan Quigg, miserable old cynic that I am I can’t say I was particularly looking forward to their performances; luckily, however, there was plenty to keep me happy before the grand finale.
Proceedings kicked off with the obligatory Battle of the Bands, and rather surprisingly the winners were hard core thrash metal/punk outfit Title of Injustice; not ideally suited to a family-friendly day out, perhaps, but they certainly gave it their best shot. Screaming vocals, blistering riffs, insane drumming, and plenty of presence made them stand out from the other hopeful acts, and while some of the audience may have been baffled I have to say it was a promising start.
Next up were a couple of solo female performers whose names currently escape me; nothing musically remarkable about their performances — they’d probably do fine on a cruise ship or at a holiday camp, but are unlikely to win any prizes for originality — but it’s probably worth mentioning that the first of the pair broke her back a week ago and performed wearing a body-brace, so it may be unfair to judge her based on this performance alone.
Things remained firmly in blandsville for the next act, Tim Gallacher, winner of last year’s Crewe and Nantwich Star Search. His performance wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it lacked any real character or personality, again heading towards holiday club cabaret crooner territory.
Things took a huge leap up with fellow southerners Fearne, who performed a blinding set of upbeat indie-tinged acoustic rock; combine their great melodies, clever lyrics, and catchy choruses with a solid performance and their relentless schedule and it’s safe to say you’ll hear more from these guys soon.
By this point some portions of the crowd had become distracted by catching the odd fleeting glimpse of the headline acts and were therefore rather impolitely ignoring what was going on on stage, but despite that handicap Liverpool’s The Aviators, a blues/indie rock band with overtones of Kings of Leon and Paw, gave a great performance — it was somewhat spoiled by the cries of “I love you Eoghan” coming from the audience, but there you go.
The final support act was the ever-wonderful Chlöe, with her usual mix of melodic pop-rock and powerful ballads, and as ever the crowd warmed to her quickly; for reasons I’ve never quite understood her inclusion on the bill generated some controversy, but she showed her detractors the error of their ways and even managed to grab the attention of the “I love you Eoghan” contingent.
Diana Vickers was up next, and quite frankly I can’t see what all the fuss was about; her vocal performance certainly didn’t distinguish her in any way from the two female solo acts earlier in the show, and she did the most peculiarly distracting “dance” I’ve ever seen in my life, a curious move that involved her standing on one foot like a flamingo. It struck me as nothing more than a bland, insipid, and wholly unimpressive selection of covers, but there seemed to be a lot of people screaming with excitement so what do I know?
Inevitably we now reached the moment we’d all been waiting for (allegedly) when Eoghan Quigg took to the stage, and from the crowd’s reaction you’d have thought it was the second coming of Christ or something. His voice is far from outstanding (or even distinctive), and as he looks like a friendly potato I fail to see how he has any mass appeal at all, and I’m pretty sure that if it weren’t for his X Factor fame he’d be hard pressed to have even got a support slot.
Overall, then, a mixed bag — the “proper” bands were all well worth coming to see, but I left the event with just as low an opinion of the headliners as I had when I arrived.
Having never been to a full-fat gig at the M Club, I can safely say the 1,000-capacity venue works a lot better when there’s more than a handful of people in attendance; the crowd was about 400 strong, and it was a whole different place!
Opening proceedings was Chlöe with a solo acoustic set, and while the lack of a backing band made the performance quieter than normal it was in no way less powerful, and despite being all on her own on the M’s somewhat voluminous stage she avoided looking lost and showed that she’s got the talent and presence to stand out from the crowd, so if you’ve somehow managed to miss any of her many local performances these past few months make sure you head to Live in the Park this Saturday.
I’ve never really considered myself much of a fan of the Beautiful South so was surprised to find I knew pretty much everything they played; the “New” lineup consists of three original members and six additional musicians but the loss of some familiar faces doesn’t seem to have affected their sound at all, so if you own one of the seven million or so records they’ve shifted in the past 20 years you would have been happy to hear the familiar sound. They did occasionally stray into bland easy-listening territory and gave a rather frightening light-jazz Kenny-G style interpretation of an ELO classic, but despite my misgivings I found myself unexpectedly singing along to the chorus on more than one occasion and had far more fun than I felt I had a right to!
I’ve just got back from an impromptu holiday — sun, sea, sand, and tacky amusements over in Scarborough — so thanks to occasional contributer and all-round superstar Mhari Gordon for this review of the Sumos headliner at the Box.
Well done to The Box, who dished-up another budget-friendly night of live music, three bands for a fiver. First-up was Saskia May. They’re a four-piece playing meaty, metally, rocking indie, which varies from thrashy, to the lighter, American end of the indie spectrum, so something to please everyone.
The singer’s petite frame belied a deep, rich, gutsy voice. Her vocals harmonised well with the rest of the band’s sound. Sadly on the night, something wasn’t quite right with the vocals, possibly due to a rushed soundcheck. The guitar, bass and drums all did their job.
Saskia May have a decent sound and they delivered promising material, but I look forward to them gaining more stage confidence and a greater complexity in their playing. I wanted them to show a bit of passion, a bit of movement, a bit of energy – I’m sure they’ve got those elements; they just need to release them on stage.
The Electric Kools came next. They opened with strong, strung-out chords – their musical recipe probably includes three grams of 1960s and a tab of pyschedelia – which immediately demanded attention.
The drums, bass and guitar come together well, creating a cohesive sound. Extracting sitar-like noises from the guitars, while remaining fast and rocky they create a drawn-out and spacey soundscape, akin to late-era Beatles or Kula Shaker. Occasional use of effects on the vocals contributes to the heard-from-a-distance, trippy sound.
Late-on in the set, another influence appears, with the vocals referencing South Asian music. I can’t quite pin it down, but I’m thinking classical Indian chanting by way of 1960s Bollywood soundtrack. The singer has a Roger Daltrey circa 1968 haircut, always good to see a bit of classic retro.
The Electric Kools’ set might benefit from more changes in pace, but I definitely enjoyed them, there was energy, creativity and good interaction with the crowd. They’ve inspired me to re-read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
Playing their first Box headliner were the Sumo Kings. No surprise to anyone when the Sumos kicked-off in straight-at-ya style, the dancefloor filled quickly. The Sumos have been working on a demo EP with producer Mike Bell (Babyshambles, etc) and their sound is definitely evolving; tonight they were sharper, with a paring-back in the guitars.
There’s no shortage of energy at a Sumo Kings gig, epitomised by the crescendos of Steve (guitar and backing vocals) and Faz (vocals and guitar) singing on Disco Lights, and by the ferocious, driving drums and bass. At the break of Space Monkey, the Faz directs the mic at the crowd and we duly oblige by yelling, “Space Monkey has gone missing!” right back at him.
After a proper showman build-up, Faz finally jumps off the stage and dances about with his guitar among the crowd. The stage is too high to climb back onto though, so he’s a bit late returning onstage, but no problem as Steve, Ad (bass) and Jamie (drums) keep it all together. And the audience is able to sing, “You should know, I’m not a sex machina” until he gets back to the mic.
Sometime later, the Sumos pick-up their instruments again, for a very unofficial after-show party, playing a couple of their own numbers and then a few, shall we say experimental, Oasis covers. All in all, the Sumos’ natural mix of mayhem and lightly-worn professionalism.
A week’s worth of stuff all condensed into one (short) post…
Studio Promo at the M was more of the same, with a wide range of genres and degress of competence on show; with four bands for a measly quid it’s a pretty good night out and if you’ve not been to one yet they’re well worth a punt (although if you’re over the age of 21 prepare to feel old compared to the vast majority of the audience!)
On Thursday Flight 505 played at the Raven (which, despite it being 100 yards from home I’d not yet got round to visiting) and as always gave a solid performance of some classic 60s/70s rock — it’s not really my era so there were only a couple of tracks that I recognised, but if you like the Stones, the Who, and other bands of that ilk then Al and the boys should be right up your street.
Speaking of Al, he provided the PA for Saturday’s Vinefest, and although I only caught a few hours of it it was a great show. Inclement weather rmarred the first hour or so, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the bands or the crowd. I only caught the end of the opening act (there was a hefty queue at the bar!) but what I heard was pretty solid (although Voodoo Chile was perhaps a bit overlong). They were followed by Firestorm who seemed to have one or two sound issues (the guitar was barely audible) and still have a ways to go — putting their rendition of Enter Sandman against the Junkyard Dogs’ version was rather telling. Chloë did what they do best, and new drummer Goose performed brilliantly on his first appearance; I won’t go in to too much detail as it may cause unrest and I’ve covered them several times before, but you should definitely make an effort to catch them at work! Hair Metal coverists Junkyard Dogs gave an inspired performance, belting out a non-stop barrage of Whitesnake, Ozzy, Metallica, Bon Jovi, and many more classics; the frontman could have easily passed for David Coverdale, with the full range of rock poses and microphone antics, and their sound perfectly captured the spandex-laden era that refuses to die. A combination of beer and other commitments meant I had to skip the Barflys, but I had a cracking time and look forward to Vinefest ‘10!
