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 said let's all meet up in the year 2000/Won't it be strange when were all fully grown

Friday 19 June - and the start of a rather busy weekend. We started the evening at The Duchess but sadly the headline act, An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump and one of their supports, Not Cool, had pulled out of the gig. Undaunted, we hung around to see how the other two bands would turn out. First on were Screaming Banshee Aircrew, hailing from London/Leicester/Leeds, and consisting of Mister Ed (vocals and theatricals), Jo Violet (bass guitar, violin and vocals), Chris Banshee (guitar, drums and vocals), and Neal Unreal (guitar, synth, drums and vocals). I don't think these are their real names! SBA are a Goth rock band in the finest tradition of black outerwear.

Their set kicked off with Mr Ed quoting from Macbeth, Act IV, Scene 1 when the witches say "Double, double toil and trouble" and then we're away on a rollercoaster of intense guitar noise, and soaring violin as Mr Ed stalks the stage frowning at the audience like a demented child-catcher come to claim his prize. I think it was Chris who started on the drums, standing up and pounding away in a manner reminiscent of David Barbarossa (drummer with Adam and the Ants), but Chris and Neal took turns at drumming during the set. Lyrically, SBA reminded me of Bolan before he sold out commercially. Sonically, there was more than a touch of Billy Idol, but Jo's near operatic vocals save SBA from close comparison. I didn't catch the names of any of the songs but would definitely turn out to see them again. Excellent start.

Second and finally, came Glass a York-based four piece that I would place somewhere in New New Wave. Glass are; Alexander King (guitars, vocals used to be in AKP), Andy Curry (synths, vocals), Jim Stafford (bass), and Dan Whiting (drums). Dressed in suits they came with a whiff of ABC about them but when the chiming guitars and rumbling synth sounds kicked in it was clear that these were a new order of art rock, a Gothic Roxy Music, an avant grandeMagazine (is that possible!) Their Unique Selling Point was that every song ended in a shuddering wall of white noise which then segued into the next song. From an audience perspective it made it difficult to know when to applaud, and we really wanted too, honestly.

Both bands were completely different from our usual fare, and both were worthy of further listening. However, this left us with a goodly portion of the evening still left and so we trundled across town to The Roman Bath where covers band The Big Picture were playing. I'm not entire sure where they come from, certainly oop North in our neck of the woods. TBP comprises; Shawn McHugh (drums, vocals), Mike Parker (guitar, vocal), and Charly Peace (bass, vocals). We enjoyed a well delivered selection of covers, mostly from modern indie bands; Kaiser Chiefs Ruby, I Predict a Riot, Kings of Leon Sex on Fire, Kinks All Day and All of the Night, You really got me, Oasis What's the story?, Blur Song2, Pulp Disco 2000... you get the idea. A nice change from the usual covers we hear.