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.

I heard you cry in your singsong voice / We didn't have a choice but to sit and watch you die in the February air

Friday 19 November - I have to admit that I was a bit half-hearted about going out tonight as the only original music in town was at The Duchess where Dorien Starre were playing. Now I know I saw these back in September 2008 at Fibbers and I'm sure that I've seen them at The Stone Roses Bar, but they've always left me somewhat underwhelmed.

My trepidation was not helped when we arrived at The Duchess to find ourselves in an audience that seemed to consist solely of sixth formers. We felt like parents intruding at the end-of-term disco.

Anyway, tonight's support bill kicked off with Likely Lads an enthusiastic bunch of youngsters who managed to pull off a number of quite well constructed tunes even though I was unable to make out the titles. There was a tendency to slip into ska-by-numbers but generally I thought that these were rather good. They also used a word that I used to use darn Sarf but never heard before oop North; "you nuggets" (weird or strange person, usually when they have done something silly). The audience certainly seemed to enjoy them, so that was a reasonable start to the evening.

The second aural offering came in the form of people: in airports a 4-piece indie-rock outfit from York and Leeds. Formed in 2006 by Shed Seven bassist Tom Gladwin and singer/songwriter Paul Downes the line-up was completed in 2007 with the addition of Jimmy Greenall (guitar and backing vocals) and Ken Sayers (drums). These, on paper, sounded quite interesting but I'm afraid they never really took-off and I can't really put my finger on why. Musically they were mediocre, one song blurred into another. It was all a bit plodding, as if the whole experience was just a bit dull as far as the band were concerned and that certainly came across in their music. Sorry guys, it just wasn't that good.

I had no great hopes as Dorien Starre took to the stage. 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). Back in March 2010 the Duchess hosted the Hive Live competition for top local acts. The winners were Dorien Starre and this was them returning to show-off the product of the recording prize they won. Frankly, they blew my flippin' socks off. I don't remember any of the songs from my previous encounters with them, but this was like listening to a different band altogether. I believe we were treated to; Wager, Nightline, Cartel, Glances, Wolves, Dwelling, I Can't Sleep, and Soho, but there may have been more than this. Certainly this was a band on form and one that is definitely going places. Highly recommended.

Recollect me darling raise me to your lips/Two undernourished egos four rotating hips

Saturday 20 September - and York is heaving tonight, lots of small groups, couples, and marauding packs of hen parties in pink Stetsons. I ducked into The Roman Bath, glad to be out of the flow of human traffic. It was getting crowded already and rightly so as The Mojos were playing here tonight. I've reviewed these guys before so regular readers will be aware that this York 5-piece covers band are extremely professional and very, very good indeed. They play classic covers from the '50s right up to the present day. The band consist of: Dave (vocals and guitar), Andy (lead guitar and vocals), John (bass guitar and vocals), Mark (keyboards), and for one night only, Hannah (drums). I'm sure I heard Dave say that Hannah was only sixteen and played in her own band (Hannah and the Junk Funk). I tell, you that girl sure could play, amazing.

The band kicked off with Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd), and they were just finishing as my friend arrived, shouldering his way through a now densely packed bar. Now here I'm going to cheat because Andy (lead guitar) provided me with the set list after their gig. This means that I don't have to rely on my brain cells surviving the onslaught of John Smith's in order to let you know what they played. So the rest of the first-half consisted of: Bohemian Like You (Dandy Warhols), Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry), I Want To Break Free (Queen), You Are All I Have (Snow Patrol), Another One Bites The Dust (Queen) with a segue into Superstition (Stevie Wonder), Ruby (Kaiser Chiefs), Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry), Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News).

During the break we were visited by Legs Elenavitch, the Russian Spy. She was dressed in a very alluring manner and it soon became clear why as she started pumping us for information about the siting of American missiles on Polish soil and the plight of the South Ossetians. As the band prepared for the second half of their act, Legs excused herself and headed off into the night. Up to no good I'll be bound!

The second half consisted of: Don't Sop Me Now (Queen), Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams), I Believe In A Thing Called Love (The Darkness), Sultans Of Swing (Dire Straits), Hold The Line (Toto), Summer Of '69 (Bryan Adams), Gimme Some Lovin (Spencer Davis Group), Sweet Child o' Mine (Guns 'n' Roses), Jump (Van Halen), Livin' On A Prayer (Bon Jovi), Rockin' All Over The World (Status Quo). And in the midst of all this is a mega-medley consisting of (according to Dave) fourteen songs. I was too busy playing 'spot-the-riff', where John (lights at the The Duchess) proved how good he was, to count them, so I'll take his word for it.

The Mojos were, as expected, excellent, and I thoroughly recommend them to anyone who has seen them yet. By a strange coincidence, as I was walking home and listening to my p-pod, which was on shuffle, I was listening to Gimme Some Lovin' as covered by Thunder. Top track.

Friday 19 September - and all four of the Friday-Nighters are out to see one of our favourite local bands, Hope&Social, at The Duchess. We all arrived pretty early and I have to say that punters were very thin on the ground. Still, sipping my Theakstons XB, I didn't much care, more room for me as I settled in to watch the support bands.

First up were Blue Jupiters. These are a 3-piece outfit from Thirsk and Ripon currently being managed by Mike Heaton (drummer for Embrace). The line-up consists of: Ben H (guitar, keys, and vocals), Simon Goff (bass, strings and backing vocals), and Ben Middleton (drums and backing vocals). They started off, like so many indie bands do, with the machine-gun style of guitar playing where one song sounds the same as every other. Things improved after about four tracks when they were joined onstage by a chap who played keyboards and they slowed down to what I would describe as a normal tempo. Aall of a sudden they were really pretty good. If they can shake off the formula-indie sound, this band has great potential. Stand out songs for me: Never the End, Pipe Dreamer, Temporary Love, Bury You Alive, and Pawn And King.

Second on the bill were Leeds-based Dorien Starre. The band consist of: Leo Derevonko (lead vocals & rhythm guitar), Alex Derevonko (bass guitar & backing vocals), Ian Talton (lead guitar & backing vocals), Andrew Ackroyd (drums & woodblock). The Yang to the Blue Jupiter's Yin, these started off slow and then degenerated into the formulaic indie guitar shredding. Again, what a shame. I liked Bonnie, and Evergreen Girl, but in a league of it's own was Human Future. What a brilliant song.

It was time for Hope&Social (on MyFace) and I was disappointed for the band at the lack of people that had turned up. From a purely selfish perspective it was great. I ended up two feet from the stage and there was little or no talking going on. For the uninitiated, Hope&Social are a Leeds 5-piece formerly known as Four Day Hombre with a small clutch of quality CDs to their name. The band consist of: Simon Wainwright (vocals/guitars/piano), Rich Huxley (guitars/vocals/piano/rhodes), Ed Waring (keyboards), J (bass), on drums, I think his name was Mike, not the usual chap anyway, ooh and there was a trumpet players as well called James. This gig was part of a tour to promote their first offering under the new moniker, a 5 track ep. The band played the new material plus old 4DH tracks from the albums Experiments In Living and One Footer Louder - Acoustic In Harlem. It was a fantastic gig especially when Simon got the audience to press closer to the stage and he and Rich sang/played without microphones to us, and winding up with the audience singing along on backing vocals. Brilliant. Of the new material I especially liked These Walls, Heaven Falls, and Buzzer Goes. I'm looking forward to the album with baited credit card.

The night was relatively young, so on leaving The Duchess we headed across to our usual watering hole, The Roman Bath, where a covers band called Go Commando were playing. The only lasting impression I have of the band is when they played Don't Leave Me This Way as part of a medley I believe. I used to like the song when it charted for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and later for Thelma Houston, but it was sullied by The Communards version. Ah, that's what two pints of XB and one of John Smiths does to my brain