Saturday, 21 February 2009

Four chords that made a million


Friday 20 February - Not a good week, this week. On Tuesday I could feel my throat furring up and I knew I was going down with something. On Wednesday I managed to get two hours in at work before declaring myself ill and sending myself home. Thursday I dosed myself with symptom relieving potions and slept most of the day. By Friday I was feeling a bit more chipper and went back to work, it appeared that my man-flu was in remission, just in time for the weekend. Four of us were hitting Fibbers to watch The Summits.


The evening didn't start well when I was giving my 12-string a bit of a strum and the g-string broke almost severing the top of my thumb. Then, as I was leaving the house, I was collared my a neighbour who insisted on regaling me with the latest operation on her leg, hence I arrived a little bit adrift. After my first pint of frighteningly cold Tetley's I could feel my glands rising and the mucous building in my sinuses. All of which is just to let you know that I wasn't exactly on top form in terms of memory recall and I hope I wasn't too much of a wet blanket for the rest of the girl/guys.


When I arrived there was a chap, Jonny Dobbs, doing his acoustic thing. He was quite good, the acceptable sound of James Blunt, but not quite what we were expecting. As soon as he finished I managed a peek at the line-up and it became clear that The Summits had pulled out, the rotten scoundrels.


Next up were Seven Heroes (SpaceFace), a four-piece from Hetton-le-Hole. The band comprised; Dan Gibson (Lead Singer/Guitarist), David Smith (Lead Guitarist/Vocals), Jez Dickey (Bass/Vocals), and Stu Gibson (Drums/Vocals). I really liked these guys. David had a box of tricks on the floor that made his guitar sound like keyboards and, with a lot of their songs having a strong dance beat, they sounded like The Killers, or a poppier version of My Vitriol. They've apparently finished work on an album so I'll be looking out for that when it's released.


The third band, moved up from second billing, was York-based Modern Day Chicane. The band members are; Ryan (vocal/guitar), Thom (bass/backing), Chris (guitar/backing), and Pete (drums). Now maybe my head-cold was really kicking in, or maybe it was because I liked 7H so much, but I just couldn't get into these guys. The vocals were a bit flat and the songs all sounded the same, four chords and a plodding beat.


The background music kicked in as soon as they'd finished so there was clearly no encore to be had. The disco lights came on and we hurriedly departed in the direction of The Roman Bath. We were in time to catch two thirds of set by Flashback, a three-piece from York comprising; Kev (bass/vocals), Pete (guitar/vocals), and Phil (drums/vocals). Flashback attempt to replicate the sounds of the early beat groups of Hamburg and Liverpool's Cavern Club. You have to admire their dedication; vintage guitars, Vox amplifications and retro mics. Definitely good for a sing along (for us old folk) and a bit of a dance. Even I can do The Twist!

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