Tortured spirits cry / fear is in their eyes / ghostly images die

Friday 11 February - and three of us are out tonight at Fibbers to see a band that we know are going to be good. First of all though there was support, apparently garnered at the last minute, from another chap that we've seen before, Marck Whiley aka Marbled (and on MyFace). I last saw Marck supporting Hope & Social at Stereo. His songs didn't latch into my consciousness at the time and on this occasion it took a little while for me to twig as to who he was. Tonight he was using a double mic with echo on one of them which gave an added layer to his singing, and he has a great voice. The problem I have is that his songs tend towards the miserablist, and that can make for a dull set. However, he did leave the stage and come amongst the audience for a couple of songs, including a Valentine's Day number which he used to serenade a young lady. The second unplugged song was The Beat Goes On about comparing songs and bands to those he heard in the sixties.

The headliners tonight were Panic Room (and on MyFace). The current line-up sports a new bass player in the form of the energetic Yatim Halimi who joins top prog vocalist/guitarist Anne-Marie Helder, lead guitarist Paul Davies, keyboard player Jonathan Edwards, and drummer Gavin Griffiths.

Now at this point I have to confess that I only own their first album, the extremely good Visionary Position and a lot of the set was taken from their 2010 album, Satellite. This is by way of excusing my lack of knowledge of the songs that I heard.

They came onto the stage amid smoke and twiddly lights (in the capable hands of Andy "The Crow") and some rather sonorous music from what sounded like a brass band, before crashing into Freedom To Breathe. This was followed by some top prog tracks from Satellite before the first track that I recognised, the robotic Elektra City, followed by Reborn. Apparently the band are writing new songs as they tour and one of these was the outstanding Song For Tomorrow. Towards the end we had Apocalypstick and a cover of Bitches Crystal. Originally from ELP's 1971 album Tarkus, Panic Room had recorded a version that was due to be released as an disc of ELP covers by Classic Rock magazine. Due to copyright publishing problem the disc was never released, which is a shame. The set closed with the intense metal track Dark Star and spaced-out epic ballad Satellite. For an encore we got another just-penned song that the band think might end up being called Promises, it's that new! Very highly recommended.

Panic Room are very much a band waxing so it's unlikely that will we see their likes for a good while in York, unless the new Barbican pull their fingers out and start booking some decent acts. I can but hope.

Can you remember remember my name / As I flow through your life

Friday 4 February - and three of us assemble at The Duchess for beer, bands, and tales of broken cars.

First band of the evening was The Bitter Image, a four piece from York who nearly blew my ears off with their first chord. Boy, were they loud, and yet they were also very tuneful and the vocals were crisp and clear. Stylistically I would label them as heavy rock, a bit like QotSA, but that doesn't do justice to the variety of their melodies. This was no band of shouty brothers. I've seen these twice before and they are definitely improving with age. Recommended.

The second band, Dorien Starre (and on FaceBok), we last saw back in November last year when they delivered a blistering set. Tonight was no exception. Based in Leeds, the band consists of: Leo Derevonko (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Alex Derevonko (bass guitar & backing vocals), Ian Talton (lead guitar & backing vocals), and Andrew Ackroyd (drums & woodblock). Leo has real stage presence and distinctive vocals that lift him from the sea of average singers. The band are building a real canon of quality material, from old stuff like Obsessive Compulsive, to their latest song, LCD. They must have enough now to seriously consider putting out an album. Note to band: I'm waiting with baited cash. But to put me on I purchased their excellent EP. Highly recommended.

This was turning into a top evening's entertainment and I was eagerly awaiting the final act, Glass (on MyFace and FaceBok). Glass are a three-piece band from York comprising; Alexander King (guitars/vocals), Andy Curry (bass/vocals), and Dan Whiting (drums). We were a bit unsure what to expect having read reviews containing the words "Gothic", "Dark", "post-punk", and "theatrical", but it all sounded mysterious and exciting.

The band burst into their first track and I was left a very puzzled bunny. There were keyboards and an extra layers of drums, synthesized I think, but clearly no such instruments being played on the stage. They were playing over a backing track, and I felt somewhat cheated. Alex was sporting a trilby and the drum kit was arrayed with disco lighting lines. So, not dark, not gothic, more like Duran Duran for the naughties. This was electronica verging on dance. It was tight and there was no denying the talent in the individual band members, but the initial shock of them playing over a backing track and a substantial wedge of their material being dance-orientated left me cold and I never really got into the music. Disappointing.

As I assembled this blog I realised that I had seen Glass before, back in the middle of 2009, and enjoyed them then. The line-up has changed since; Andy Curry has moved from synth to bass, and they've lost original bass player Jim Stafford. At that time I tried to convey a sense of their sound by describing it as having a whiff of ABC and a gothic Roxy Music. Ah, those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end.

We lost the skyline, we stepped right off the map / Drifted in to blank space, and let the clocks relapse

Friday 28 January - and it was a full turn out tonight to watch three bands that were entirely new to us. As an added bonus the bands were playing at The Duchess so there was decent beer on hand and a generally nice atmosphere. There have been a few alterations to the venue since we were last in, most noticeably the open area to the right, as you look at the stage, has been enclosed. It was a wasted area anyway, so no loss to the venue size.

Tonight’s first band were Sombre. I could only find two names, Luke Saxton and Robert Green, but there were three of them so I'm guessing that mystery man was the drummer. Anyway, they come from York and reminded me somewhat of an English Sigur Ros or Fleet Foxes, very much in the shoegazing genre which I do enjoy. The vocals were clear and the keyboards put to good effect as a background to the guitar playing. Just when they sounded as if they were beginning to sound a bit samey, they changed the tempo to round off thirty minutes of very enjoyable music. A great start to the evening and a band that I can highly recommend listening to.

Next up were Missing Kids, a two-piece that I assume come from the York area, as that's mostly where they seem to perform. Mr D'Mudie sings and play guitar, whilst Miss S'Anderson drums and provides backing vocals. The vocals were muffled, clearly they couldn't blame the sound system, their songs were full of dreary riffs and never went anywhere. It wasn't so much that the wheels came off, they were never on in the first place. It was a miserable set with pregnant pauses between each song punctuated by needless strumming.

We were hoping that the final band were going to lift the evening. The ABC Club (and on on FaceSpace), a 5-piece from Leeds with a fair bit of hype surrounding them. The band are; Zandra Klievens (vocals), Jordan Radcliffe (guitar), Jack Haigh (bass), James Burkitt (drums), David Barber (guitar). Musically they played well, Klievens came across as a bit 'Morrisey' with her thick sweater, arms behind her back, and motionless stance, but she sang well. The performance was strangely stilted. It appeared that the drummer and the lead guitarist were the only ones who actually wanted to be there, the rest just seemed to be going through the motions. When I judged them to be about half-way through their set, I nipped off to the toilet and when I came back they were gone! It seems that the rhythm guitarist had put his instrument down, the lead guitarist had flung his to the floor and they had all stormed off in a huff. All very unprofessional and I can only think that there is some unresolved tension within the band. Just a bit rubbish really.

So, a bit of a strange evening but we did get to hear one outstandingly good band, Sombre, so not a complete waste of time.