This is our world, we made it/These are our hands, these are our dreams

Saturday 23 February – is there a force in the Universe strong enough to drag me away from watching England who were 0-10 up against the French in the Six Nations? Well, apparently there is, and that force is Breathing Space (also available at MyFace). Despite turning up early, the venue was already heaving, and even our own ranks had been swelled to a record turnout of six people.

After a few warmup checks; the lights dimmed, the smoke machine cranked into life, and ambient keyboard noises started floating through the room. The gig had started and it soon became apparent that if we were to see any more than the tops of people’s heads, we would have to move closer to the action. And so we elbowed our way to the front of the area where the band were playing. Now I’ve heard snatches of their tracks but this was a full-on treat of songs from both their first album, Iain Jennings’ Breathing Space, and the second, Breathing Space’s Coming Up For Air. Breathing Space started life as a solo album project by Iain Jennings, ex-keyboard player and co-songwriter with Mostly Autumn that initially used some of his Mostly Mates before putting together his own touring band and retaining Mostly’s backing singer Olivia Sparnenn (Livvy)as vocalist.

Not the usual pub rock fare, BS delivered a blistering set of amibient/prog rock, and with the addition of John Hart on saxophone (If “A” is reading this that’s a woodwind instrument even though it’s made of brass) and Yamaha WX7 wind synthesizer, a jazz/rock fusion reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Where Here. It really was that good! In fact the entire band were on top form with Iain and Ben Jennings’ cinematic keyboards, Olivia Sparnenn’s fantastic voice, Mark Rowan’s tight and economical guitar work, Paul Teasdale’s intricate bass fretwork, and bombastic drumming from Barry Cassells.

The crowd were extremely appreciative of the quality and performance of the band and in particular of Livvy’s delivery of Belief, dedicated to “someone who couldn’t be here tonight”. We all caught the reference and it brought a genuine lump to my throat.

There were a few fellow muso’s mingling with the crowd; Mostly Brian, Mostly Heather, and Mostly Andy “The Crow”. I was Mostly down the front with my tongue hanging out, and even parted with a handful of dead flies and some magic beans in exchange for a copy of Coming Up For Air. I was that impressed.

When I got home, I found out that we actually beat the French 13 – 24. Saturday’s don’t come much better that that!

Images are courtesy of I and D and you can get an I’s eye view of the gig here.

You're just a rubber band boy

Thursday 21 February – Mm, these weekends are coming earlier and earlier! So, a Thursday night visit to Fibs, mostly because we’ve heard the second band on the bill before and liked them. I have to say that the audience was a bit thin on the ground. Take away the groups themselves and their family and friends, and there’s probably only about 25 people in.

First up were Player 1, a York band formed in the spring of 2005, they’ve only recently had a stable enough line-up to start gigging, but they’ve already developed a great sound and some stand-out tracks. Player 1 consist of; Charlie Floyd (Rhythm Guitar and Vocals), David Kearns (Lead Guitar), Ed Shipley (Bass), and Dan Whiting (Drums). The slightly mono-tonal vocals are reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Check out Dead Grover Storage, and Surrender on their MyFace website. There was a song about vampires and they even managed to pull off an instrumental. Excellent stuff.

Band número dos were Hull-base Lecorum. Gigging on the back of their Clockwork EP, the band consists of Chris Hazard (Vocals, Guitar), Damo (Piano), Fletchy (Bass), and Joe (Drums). A bit like Longpigs, and a bit like the Manic Street Preachers, only with proper tunes. Outstanding tracks were; Clockwork, Hide Away, Gone, and Connected, all available on the EP or downloadable from iTunes. No, I’m not on commission, they just happen to be pretty damn good. If they release an album I’ll be adding it to my collection.

Hey, this is good, two great bands on the trot, surely we couldn’t be in for a hat-trick? Oh, yes we were, the final band were South London-based Royworld. Rod Futrille (vocals and songwriting), Timmy Miles (keyboards), Gerry Morgan (drums), Robbie Parkin (guitar), and sleeping partner Crispin Futrille (songwriting) . So that’s a Rob and a Rod, but no Roy. In December 2007 they released Elasticity and Tinman on the Fierce Panda label. The band is currently working on their first album which is due to be released in the summer of 2008. Rod’s voice has a fantastically rich quality not unlike Martin Fry, of ‘80s Northern Soul band ABC. Together the band makes music of epic proportions, almost orchestral works, with each song comprising several distinct parts. This is piano-led indie, pushing the envelope and succeeding. Brakes is a slow-burning song that, propelled by acoustic guitar, soars from a whisper to a scream. Tinman, meanwhile, is a piano'n'synth mini-opera. The opening line, 'Grew up in a house on the hill' - almost like a short story. Science is a love song with a twist; it's more like an anti-love song. Other standing tracks were; Wish Ourselves Away, and Man In The Machine, which is a contender for the title of the album and also due for release as a single on 3 March through Virgin Records.

Soldier is turning/See him through white light

Friday 15 February – and down at the Roman Tin Tub are Megawatt Winged Avenger, a heavy rock/metal band previously seen at Fibbers where we thoroughly enjoyed their set. Tonight they were playing their own stuff alongside heavy rock covers such as; Judas Priest (Breaking the Law), Guns ‘n’ Roses (Sweet Child of Mine), Metallica (Enter Sandman), Bon Jovi (Bad Medicine), Stereophonics (Just Looking). Yes, I know, it’s that last one that encapsulates the problem. They play their own stuff with grit and honesty, and they are good. But, the covers are played a bit tongue in cheek and they just didn’t work. The ambience wasn’t right either. The stage area was so dark that we could hardly see the band (no problem in hearing them of course!) and for some bizarre reason they seemed to attract “the pink and the p*ssed”. I’ve no problems with people who butter their bread on the other side (anything that tips the balance of male/female in my favour generally gets my blessing) but I feel uncomfortable when they’re touching each other up and engaging in the fairy-wrestling that they seem to think passes for dancing. Bit of a naff night then. Still, there’s always tomorrow...

Saturday 16 February – “man doth not live by rock covers only” (Deuteronomy 8: 3 but bent to the author’s will, ha, ha) and so we find ourselves at Fibbers for the Levi’s One To Watch showcase, three bands that we hadn’t heard of before. Our expectations were as high as the entrance price, £8. A tad on the steep side we thought. First up, and we caught them about half-way through their set, were Ox. Eagle. Lion. Man. (Revelations 4:6-7 “6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.” It’s not a blog it’s an education!), risen, I’m informed, Lazarus-like from the ashes of Les Incompetents. Hailing from London, OELM consists of: Frederick Blood-Royale (Vocals/samples/fake surnames), Jareth (Guitar/Effects/lost surnames), Thomas Günnzs (Bass/Keys/umlauted surnames), and Eduard Quarmby (Drums/just daft names generally). Three songs is not really enough to judge a band on but just to give you a flavour of their act... Jareth had a skein of hair that he must have stolen from Rapunzel and hung it over his guitar at every opportunity. Frederick sort of semi-spoke the words, which I have to say were very clear and showed that mumbled vocals are a performer’s choice at Fibbers, not an aberration of the acoustics. Each song was like a mini-play or rather musical. Very theatrical, not my cup of tea, but there you go. It was an interesting start.

Oh dear. Second band were the Cazals, billed as a London/Milan band. A bit ’80 synth, only heavier. A bit Sham 69, without the tunes. It all started to go downhill after the second song, a cover of Spandau Ballet’s To Cut A Long Story Short. The final track was Life is Boring and contained the lyric “What’s the point?” What indeed!

At this point we were approached by a member of the bar staff and asked if we would provide feedback on the bands at the end of the gig, to which we agreed. Apparently Levis like to get real audience reactions to the bands they showcase.

And so to our final contenders, Cut Off Your Hands, a flock of Kiwis selling their own brand of dance-pop-punk, bit like The Klaxons and The Pigeon Detectives, allegedly. Allegedly was in fact the operative word. Expectations was almost OK, but generally their front man sound like Robert Smith and their whole sound was a bit like The Cure. There was also a hint of New Order in there somewhere, but far too many oh-oh-ohs. To add insult to injury, they played a short set ending at 22:15 instead of 22:30 and there was no encore.

So, feedback on the Levi’s Ones to Watch? Well, Three To Avoid actually. I bought my ticket for the Mexicolas whilst we were there, it cost me £5 and I know that I’m going to enjoy them. £8 for three unknown bands that are rubbish and finish too early? We was robbed!

It was time to drown our sorrows so we beat a retreat across York to The Roman Bath in search of salvation. At least it would be free! Playing tonight were Full Tilt a rock covers band from Sheffield. We arrived just before they started the second half of their set, which went on for one and a quarter hours! They performed a vast range of material: Thin Lizzy (Rosalie), AC/DC (Whole Lotta Rosie), Bad Co. (Can’t get Enough of Your Love), Deep Purple (Smoke on the Water, Black Night), Nirvana (Smells Like Teen Spirit), Puddle of Mudd (She Hates Me), RaTM (Killing in the Name), Kinks (Really got me going), Guns ‘n’ Rose (Knocking’ on Heavens Door). Seven encores. Now that’s what I call music. Even the presence of the crazy dancing bloke with a miner’s lamp around his neck couldn’t ruin that kind of gig.

Recipe for success

Tuesday 12 February – take a large bowl of Brum, add a pinch of Red Hot Chili Peppers choppy guitars, a generous bunch of Stereophonics vocals, and a ladleful of singalong-a-QOTSA choruses. Mix well and serve with a side salad of Feeder. What have you got? X, the debut album from The Mexicolas.

The Mexicolas are a three-piece from Birmingham:

• Jamie Evans - Vocals / Guitars / Keyboards
• Tim Trotter - Drums / Percussion
• Del Carter – Bass

It’s probably a bit early in the year to be talking about “debut album of 2008”, but this could well be it. Thirteen fantastically constructed tracks, packed with swagger, big riffs and gravely vocals. Instantly outstanding tracks are; Big in Japan and the hauntingly beautiful Times Infinity. But, honest truly, every track is instantly memorable. I highly recommend this album.

The Mexicolas are playing at Fibbers on 12 March 2008. Catch them or cry.

Confused, Mind Bruised, It Seeps Out/It Seeps Out, It Seeps Out

Syncrownized as seen through a pint of Thwaites'

Friday 8 February – a warm day, but the lack of clouds that allowed the watery winter sun to raise the day-time temperature presaged a frosty night, probably below freezing. An evening, therefore, for layers of clothes. And an evening of music in the company of “A” and two, hot Dutch chicks. Oh yes! In a change to our advertised programme, we foreswore “good music and a decent pint(s)” at the Roman bath, for “good music and a duff pint(s)” at the Stone Roses Bar where Syncrownized were due to appear.

There was a band playing when I first arrived, it might have been Wasted, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, “A” and the ladies arrived, and eight texts later, we were also joined by Legs Elena, the spy mistress from Moskva. Syncrownized played a host of covers including: The Jam (Town Called Malice), Dylan (All Along The Watchtower), Led Zep (Rock ‘n’ Roll, Whole Lotta Love), Undertones (Teenage Kicks), Chuck Berry (Johnny B Goode), Rolling Stones (Sympathy For The Devil), The Who (My Generation), Fleetwood Mac (The Chain), Steppenwolf (Born To Be Wild), The Clash (White Man In Hammersmith Palais), Aerosmith (Walk This Way), and Neil Young (Rockin’ In The Free World). Sadly, there was a bit of funk in the middle, Stevie Wonder’s Superstition blending into a medley of funkadelia including Deee-Lite’s Groove Is In The Heart, and James Brown’s Sex Machine. Gods help us! Still, it did get all the funk out of the way in one fell swoop. As expected, the Thwaites’ beer was distinctly average.

You might think that I have a fine memory, remembering all the songs they played, and you would be correct. When they had finished I went up to Leon (lead singer/guitar), congratulated him on the excellent gig (creep), and blagged the set-list off him. Except of course that they hadn’t really stuck to the set-list, so half of it was wrong anyway. Ho hum. Lucky I had my brain with me.

As we staggered home I encouraged “A” to show the girls a snickleway, which caused them both to collapse in a heap of laughter. It appears that “snickle”, or something sounded very like it, is Dutch for the male appendage. So you can guess what they construed “snickleway” as!

Saturday 9 February – and I had it on good authority that there was a jolly good band, called DSQ, playing at the Roman Bath. DSQ are a York band consisting of Mickey (vocals), Dave Stanley (guitar), Rob (guitar), Rainey (bass), Nick (keyboard), Shaun (drums), and Fraz (percussion and vocals).

I didn’t realise quite how popular they were until I turned up about ten past nine, only to have to wait in a queue to get in the door! If it wasn’t for the fact that the lovely lady bouncer knew me, and my friends were already inside, I might have spent most of the evening out on the pavement. However, I did manage to get in and we were treated to (a) lovely foaming pints of John Smiths (b) lack of oxygen due to the vast number of people inside (c) lots of rock covers, some of which I only half recognised. Now, following Friday, my brain wasn’t up to its normal marvellous retention but here are a few of the tracks: Van Halen (Jump), Kinks (You Really Got Me), Bryan Adams (Summer Of ’69, The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You), The Automatic (Monster), Snow Patrol (Chasing Cars), The Beatles (Standing There), Elton John (Still Standing). We had to leave before the end as “A” and the girls had to get up early in the morning and head for the hills. But, if DSQ come back soon, I will make a point of watching them again. They were very good indeed.

I'm gonna write a little letter, gonna mail it to my local DJ.

Lecorum

Saturday 2 February – hey, we’re out again. Tonight it’s a toss-up between Glasvegas at The Junction or The Sugars at Fibs. Sweetness prevails as (a) it’s not so far to walk (b) Glasvegas are coming to Fibs soon anyway. All of which meandering brings us to the first band of the evening, supporting The Sugars, a Hull-based four-piece called Lecorum. Formed in the late summer of 2006 they consist of Chris Hazard (vocals, guitar), Damien Johnson (keyboards) and Joe Nicholson (drums), and Fletchy (bass). Their January tour coincides with the release of their debut EP Connected? They certainly played some superb tunes: Hide Away, Gone, Clockwork, and, Down and Tired. I loved their piano-led Indie tunes, a refreshing change to tight jeaned Kaiser Monkey clones that seem to be filling music venues these days. Think Manic Street Preachers, but with decent tunes; a bit of Feeder, a bit of Jimmy Eat World. Certainly a band to watch for 2008.

The headliners, The Sugars, caught me on the hop as I was expecting a guy (Matthew Bolton on guitar and vocals) and two girls (Jodie “The Hammer” Wyatt on drums, and Anna Greenaway on bass and vocals). But it turned out the Jodie is laid up having injured her wrists and Matthew introduced us to an old friend Alex Lewis (looking scarily like a mini Ron Mael) who was sitting in for her. The Sugars are a collision of ‘50s Doo Wop and the White Stripes. I’m sorry if that’s not an easy image, but that’s what they’re like! Essentially a one-trick pony, it was a pleasant enough way to spend the evening, but I wouldn’t bother to see them twice.

We only had a short while before “A” had to head off, but we found time to nip into the Roman Bath to catch a tune or four of Flashback, a ‘60s retro covers band from York. They played very competently including; Billy J Kramer, The Beatles (I Saw Her Standing There), Chuck Berry (Roll Over Beethoven). They certainly sounded as if they were worth checking out again.

Feelin’ all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dyin’/Oh, didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I see you cryin’?

Friday 1 February – ‘tis the season of frosts and frozen noses. My head is twice its normal weight and my nose has set solid, as if I’ve been snorting wet concrete. My poor, occluded ears need some different sounds so we’re on a mission, four bands we’ve never heard of are playing at Fibbers, and it’s only £4 at the door. Got to be worth a punt.

Bugger, we missed the first band, Skylights. Sorry chaps. Still, next up are The City Dukes. I think these were the ’06 Battle of The Bands semi-finalists, but feel free to correct me by sending corrections on the back of a £20 note to the usual address. They consist of: Dubbsy on a guitar that is leading and vocals that are backing, Seb on drums and cymbaliture and things you can hit with a stick generally, Franky on bass and more vocals of the backing variety, and Russell on vocals that are leading and guitar. The bass player was very good, but the rest just seemed to make a big noise over the top of him. The songs didn’t seem to finish properly, and it was generally just a bit chaotic. Not a great start then.

Enter stage left, The Buccaneers. Advance information was sparse as their MyFace page had been removed. They are a 3-piece with a sound something akin to The Answer. The lead guitarist certainly knew his way around the fret board and they showed promise. I didn’t catch the name of most of the tracks but I liked Follow That Man, and another one that ended with the word …Blues. Sorry, sometimes I’m a bit rubbish. For one track they employed front man, Stuart Allan, from the next act, on electric mandolin. The time signature changes and lack of practice caused something of a faux pas and they were obliged to start again. To be honest, the mandolin wasn’t necessary. Still, that’s live music for you. Viva!

Finally, The Blueprints took to the stage. John Ackroyd on guitar, Stuart Allan on vocals, guitar and occasional mandolin, Jim Richardson on bass, and Russ Broadbent on drums, gadgets and website. The band were very tight, again I missed most of the titles of the tracks, but recall Spectrum vs Commodore. The band thoroughly enjoyed themselves with plenty of banter with the audience. At one stage Jim (bass) nudged Stuart from behind and almost sent him into the crowd. They employed a small Casio keyboard for one track, which they referred to as being the size of a king-sized Mars Bar. They finished by bringing The Buccaneers back on stage and performing a rousing cover of Cheap Trick’s I Want You To Want Me. The guitar solo was lost in the general noise, but it went down very well. I really enjoyed this band and have since discovered that they will be supporting Duels at The Junction on Tuesday 18 March, so that might be worth a mid-week outing.

The night wasn’t over though, we braved the perishing winds and made our way to the Roman Bath where The Blueflies were playing, Now, we’ve seen these before and they’re pretty damn good, a York-based three-piece specialising in Free/Cream/Hendrix covers. Miles Gilderdyke on guitar and vocal, Gavin Ewing on bass guitar, and Trevor “Fatha” King on drums and backing vocals. We caught the last remnants of their act which included covers by: Cream (Crossroads), Hendrix (Voodoo Chile), Led Zep (Whole Lotta Love), and the Kinks (You Really Got Me). Miles is an awesome guitar player and there was a lot of fret board onanism going on. Highly recommended.