A Happy New Year to all my readers and here is a round up of my weekend and some tidbits from the rumour mill for you.
Friday 4 January – and I was a bit dismayed that I was unable to locate listings for gigs at the Roman Bath from my usual sources for this month. Not to worry because on Friday we were off to Fibbers to watch Sneakypeeks, the band formerly known as Cohesion.
First act on were Girls Can’t Dance, a Leeds based band, four students brought together by their love for music and lack of funds (isn’t that all students?), blending gritty guitar, energetic drum and bass, and vocals that I couldn’t quite hear. They started as a five-piece called Bad White People in January 2007 building up a reputation by doing house parties in Leeds. In May 2007 they parted with one of the guitarists, Mike, and changed their name. The current line-up is: Kieran Kearns (Vocals), Paul Stevenson (Guitar), Olly Stork (Bass), and Joe Jones (Drums). To be honest, they were a bit too Strokes/Bloc Party for me, with lots of oo-oo-oo’s, ah-ah-ah’s, and do-do-do’s in the vocals.
Band number two on the hymn sheet were The Layfields, a York-based (they formed at York St John University) four piece indie band that have been together since March 2007. The band are: Oliver Grabowski (Guitar/Vocals), Toby Pottas (Guitar/Vocals), Jonny Wylie ( Bass Guitar), and Ian Hird (Drums). Like, GCD, The Layfields use the ‘Jam’ style of guitar playing so loved by the likes of The Libertines and the Arctic Monkeys. I’m sorry guys but it’s a bit samey sounding, you’re wearing your influences on your sleeves.
And finally, The Sneakypeeks who started life in late 2005 as a four-piece outfit under the name Cohesion. In September 2007 they decided to change their moniker after shedding one of their band mates. The current line-up is: Paul James (Vocals/Guitars/Keys), Matt Goodbody (Bass/Vocals), and Rich Clark (Drums/Vocals). Paul, a qualified primary teacher, is a classically trained musician who, in addition to guitar and keyboards, also plays violin, piano, saxophone and banjo. He’s also acquired some bagpipes, so watch out! Rich also plays violin and piano and is in his final year of a Sports degree. Matt is originally from Leeds and is also in his final year of a degree at Uni. Previous to joining Matt was the bass player with 'No Right Turn' a four piece punk rock band. The Sneaky’s are currently recording an album which is expected to be released in early 2008 on Yorkshire-based label Voltage Records. One song in and Paul had already bust two strings on his guitar, so while he fannied around re-stringing and tuning, Rich gave an impromptu drum solo. Nice one Rich! This was much more like it. Each tune was different, the vocals were much clearer and the whole effect was much more professional. Standout tracks were: Hard Working Girl, Damn Right, This Place, and In The City. What an excellent evening, but it wasn’t over yet! By this time I was feeling no pain having quaffed three nearly-pints of Black Sheep and acquired a purple glow-bracelet, so we strutted up into the centre of town and the Roman Bath....
Things were certainly lively in the Bath as punk covers band The Spunksters were in the final half hour of their set. The Spunksters were formed in 2005 by Mal and following a few regime changes, now consists of: Mal (Guitar), ‘Mad’ Andy Watson (Drummer), and ‘Jolly’ Jonny Fletch (Bass). They are a punk covers band and we managed to catch a rabble rousing selection such as; Sex Pistols (Bodies, God Save the Queen), Frank Sinatra/ Sid Vicious (My Way), Undertones (Teenager kicks), Clash (White Riot), Sham69 (If The Kids are United, Hersham Boys), Harry Lauder/Rolf Harris (Two Little Boys – written by Theodore Morse and Edward Madden), and Toy Dolls (Nellie the Elephant – written by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart). By the end of the set I was pogoing as if I was back in the ‘70s, great stuff. I also think I saw Andy (The Crow) Smith the bass man from Mostly Autumn lurking in the background, but I may have been mistaken/too drunk to see properly.
Oh, here’s another review of the same night
Saturday 5 January – now according to the gig list in the Roman Bath, The Summits were supposed to be playing today, but it appears that they were playing second fiddle at Fibbers, hmm, strange. Anyway, we now needed to try and find some music for a Saturday night. Nothing at The Stone Roses Bar, and the Old White Swan was deader then the Old White Dodo, but The Habit was displaying a steamy window so that was an encouraging sign. In fact it was the Two Bobs, named because, well, both their names are Bob. Bob One plays the acoustic guitar; Bob Two plays the violin/electric violin/bass. Their music? Well, Irish jigs and Scottish reels, songs like; The Wild Rover, Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower, The Strawbs’ Part of the Union, Irish Rover, Lindisfarne’s Meet Me on the Corner, you get the idea. It was brilliant, and a bit sweaty (it’s only a small venue), and there really wasn’t room for the Crazy Dancing Chick, but she danced anyway and narrowly avoided falling on her backside. I didn’t drink quite so much but it was 01:30 before I got home, dirty stop out!
Tidbits – the music scene in York took a knock on Sunday 6 January, when Certificate 18 closed its doors for the last time at 3pm. It’s the first local victim to fall foul of a national slump in small venue ticket sales. Whilst Indie bands can generally find outlets for their music, C18 was unique in York for providing a platform for Hard Rock, Goth, Heavy Metal, and New Wave Punk. The owners, Punch Taverns, are keen to find a landlord who can continue operating the venue for live music.
So, been to the Old White Dodo recently? Nor me, in fact the word on the hop-vine is that they had to close the sports bar due to a lack of people. Twits, they couldn’t just leave it alone could they?
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