Entangle me in verses of poetry, Avert my gaze from the darkest of darkest days

Friday 16 October – If there’s one thing that you can expect at a Hope&Social gig, it’s the unexpected! And so here we are at Fibbers, slightly wetting ourselves with anticipation of a great night out.

The first support band are Rosie from Pateley Bridge, consisting of; Doug Wallace (vocals and rhythm guitar), Tommy Leatherbarrow (drums and backing vocals), and Louis Leatherbarrow (keyboards). It’s hard to describe their style of music so I can do no better than quote someone else who said “bouncy electro-powered party punk”. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Despite the fact that I don’t really go for electronica as a musical genre they certainly had me tapping my toes, and dare I say it, swaying slightly to the music. They also seem to have a small entourage of crazy dancers, one dressed as a banana, who fling themselves about a bit in the audience. It was all very good fun and quite entertaining.

The second support band was people: inairports who we had seen before in November 2010, and not been much impressed with on that occasion. Formed by ex-Shed Seven bassist Tom Gladwin, they also comprise singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Downes along with Jimmy Greenall (guitar & backing vocals), and Ken Sayers (drums). Sadly they sounded pretty much as they did nearly a year ago, a tired string of Jam-esque indie pub-rock songs. To be honest, I would much rather have an extended H&S set.

With three albums under their collective belts, Leeds-based Hope&Social have a wide range of material to call upon. Please don’t expect me to reel off a complete track listing of all the songs that they delighted us with, because their act is so much more than just the songs. There was the running on the spot, the bearded Gary Stewart a-likes, the banter with the audience, the maniacal pounding of keyboards and super-heavy guitar riffs, barber-shop style harmonies, brass section, sing-alongs… you name it, it probably happened. If you’ve never seen this band before, do it. If you want to listen to them, you can do it online, for free. And , if you want to buy their music, you can, and you only have to pay what you want. Crazy? Only if you never get around to seeing/hearing them. But, I do not like green eggs and ham. Try it, try it, you will see...

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.