Tell me why you lied, And what it is you do to keep your eyes all shiny

Friday 11 March - was a complete departure from the norm for us as we travelled into Leeds to see The Decemberists at the O2 Academy. This was a somewhat bigger venue than usual for us and we arrived reasonably early in order to get prime position near the front of the crowd. Support came from Blind Pilot, an American indie folk band based in Portland, Oregon. They were perfect warm up showcasing songs from their debut album 3 Rounds and a Sound with Fleet Foxes-style harmonies and breathy-voiced vocals.

The Decemberists are also an indie folk from Portland but they have no less than six studio albums to their name and are currently touring their latest one The King Is Dead. The band consist of; Colin Meloy (lead singer, guitar, harmonica), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (Hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, harmonica), Nate Query (bass guitar, double bass), John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica), and for this tour they have Sara Watkins providing Violin, backing vocals, and more guitar. After a brief light 'n' sound theatrical prelude the band launched into Shiny from their 5 Songs EP. This was followed by three tracks from the new album; Down by the Water, Rox in the Box, and Rise to Me. Next they re-visted older material with July July!, The Bagman's Gambit, Annan Water, Won't Want for Love (Margaret In the Taiga), and the epic The Island: Come & See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning. Quite how they managed to include excerpts from The Hazards of Love, basically a concept album, into the set is a testament to their musical talent. Then we had another three new songs; Don't Carry It All, Calamity Song, and This is Why We Fight, with Military Wives from Picaresque added into the mix.

For an encore they played two more old numbers; Red Right Ankle (Her Majesty the Decemberists) and Sons and Daughters (The Crane Wife). We even got a second encore when they finally rounded off the gig with June Hymn (The King Is Dead).

This was definitely the gig of the year for me and I can heartily recommend that you try and catch them on tour, or failing that, buy one/more of their albums.

It's been a long hard year, with many ups and downs / and now the summer's here, and we can all come out.

Friday 4 March - now, I'm sorry but I've been really busy at the moment with decorating my house so there's only time for a quick splash 'n' dash of a roundup of our latest outing. This was a RockSound showcase taking place at The Duchess and from the start we all felt the need to grab a pair of free ear defenders from behind the bar, the noise was way too loud. Support came from These City Walls who seemed pretty average to me, which is to say that there was nothing striking about the music, lyrics or stage presense that left any lasting ;memory.

There were three bands being showcased and apparently they take it in turns to be the 'headline' act, so we kicked off with Dinosaur Pile-Up, an alt rock band hailing from Leeds, comprising lead singer and guitarist Matt Bigland, bassist Harry Johns, and drummer Mike Sheils. Musically they reminded me in parts of Nirvana, and Ash, definitely a grunge thing going on there. That said, there was variety in the styles and delivery of each song and I enjoyed them so much that I actually bought their 2010 album Growing pains from the merch stall at the interval. Very good indeed.

This was a bit worrying because it was looking as if my wallet was in for a bit of a battering. Not to worry though, the other two bands weren't a patch on DPU. Next up were The Xcerts a three-piece from Aberdeen; Murray MacLeod (vocals & guitar), Jordan Smith (backing vocals & Bass), and Tom Heron (backing vocals & drums). I'm pretty sure that most of their set was drawn from their album Scatterbrain but none of the material stayed in my head long enough to register before it was blasted out by the next song. The volume was doing nothing to endear me.

The 'headline' act was Japanese Voyeurs, London based and comprising; Tom Lamb (guitar), Johnny Seymour (bass), Romily Alice(vocals/guitar), Steve Wilson (drums), and Rikki Waldren (keyboard). Once more the sheer volume of noise deadened any redeeming factors. Romily looked like a young Avril Lavigne but had a voice like fingernails on the classroom blackboard. Their material was pretty much Paramore with very little variety between each track. If I sound dismissive, I'm sorry. I'm sure that I'm doing these bands (part from DPU) a disservice by my lack of enthusiasm but I really struggled to hear much beyound the volume, and I'm not some miserable old goat, and I have listened to some louder bands who still managed to get their music across, so there's no excuse.

I've looked under chairs, I've looked under tables, I've tried to find the key, To fifty million fables

Friday 25 February - no original music this week, we are happy to settle for decent beer and a covers band, so that'll be at The Roman Bath then. Apparently there's a band called The Pepperhearts playing tributes to The Beatles and they certainly seemed to be popular as we have to queue up to get in as the pub was so full. After fighting our way to the bar and coming away with an armful of beers we took up station to watch/listen to the band amid a constant river of folk streaming in and out of the front door, and en route to the rest rooms. The Pepperhearts were good, they certainly recreated the sound of the Fab Four as far as humanly possible, but the material began to sound a bit samey and it dawned on us that they didn't seem to be able to break through 1965. It was all the very early stuff, which is OK if you like 2-3 minute songs, but 1965 was the year that The Moptops spread their musical wings and transcended every other band. Maybe the later years were to be featured in the second half of their performance, but by half-time we were jaded and decided to move on.

As so it was that we found ourselves in O'Neills to watch The Mothers. Now we've seen these before on a couple of occasions but tonight they are sporting a new vocalist and a chap on keyboards that looks suspiciously like a refugee from Hijack Oscar. Nonetheless, we were treated to a fine selection of old and (relatively) new covers including Take Me to the River (Al Green), You Really Got Me (The Kinks), Superstition (Stevie Wonder), The Seeker (The Who), Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (James Brown), I Predict A Riot (The Kaiser Chiefs), Back In The USSR (the Beatles) which segued into Jumping Jack Flash (The Rolling Stones), In The Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett), Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Tainted Love (Soft Cell), The Jean Genie (David Bowie), and many more. Top stuff.

Tortured spirits cry / fear is in their eyes / ghostly images die

Friday 11 February - and three of us are out tonight at Fibbers to see a band that we know are going to be good. First of all though there was support, apparently garnered at the last minute, from another chap that we've seen before, Marck Whiley aka Marbled (and on MyFace). I last saw Marck supporting Hope & Social at Stereo. His songs didn't latch into my consciousness at the time and on this occasion it took a little while for me to twig as to who he was. Tonight he was using a double mic with echo on one of them which gave an added layer to his singing, and he has a great voice. The problem I have is that his songs tend towards the miserablist, and that can make for a dull set. However, he did leave the stage and come amongst the audience for a couple of songs, including a Valentine's Day number which he used to serenade a young lady. The second unplugged song was The Beat Goes On about comparing songs and bands to those he heard in the sixties.

The headliners tonight were Panic Room (and on MyFace). The current line-up sports a new bass player in the form of the energetic Yatim Halimi who joins top prog vocalist/guitarist Anne-Marie Helder, lead guitarist Paul Davies, keyboard player Jonathan Edwards, and drummer Gavin Griffiths.

Now at this point I have to confess that I only own their first album, the extremely good Visionary Position and a lot of the set was taken from their 2010 album, Satellite. This is by way of excusing my lack of knowledge of the songs that I heard.

They came onto the stage amid smoke and twiddly lights (in the capable hands of Andy "The Crow") and some rather sonorous music from what sounded like a brass band, before crashing into Freedom To Breathe. This was followed by some top prog tracks from Satellite before the first track that I recognised, the robotic Elektra City, followed by Reborn. Apparently the band are writing new songs as they tour and one of these was the outstanding Song For Tomorrow. Towards the end we had Apocalypstick and a cover of Bitches Crystal. Originally from ELP's 1971 album Tarkus, Panic Room had recorded a version that was due to be released as an disc of ELP covers by Classic Rock magazine. Due to copyright publishing problem the disc was never released, which is a shame. The set closed with the intense metal track Dark Star and spaced-out epic ballad Satellite. For an encore we got another just-penned song that the band think might end up being called Promises, it's that new! Very highly recommended.

Panic Room are very much a band waxing so it's unlikely that will we see their likes for a good while in York, unless the new Barbican pull their fingers out and start booking some decent acts. I can but hope.

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.

We lost the skyline, we stepped right off the map / Drifted in to blank space, and let the clocks relapse

Friday 28 January - and it was a full turn out tonight to watch three bands that were entirely new to us. As an added bonus the bands were playing at The Duchess so there was decent beer on hand and a generally nice atmosphere. There have been a few alterations to the venue since we were last in, most noticeably the open area to the right, as you look at the stage, has been enclosed. It was a wasted area anyway, so no loss to the venue size.

Tonight’s first band were Sombre. I could only find two names, Luke Saxton and Robert Green, but there were three of them so I'm guessing that mystery man was the drummer. Anyway, they come from York and reminded me somewhat of an English Sigur Ros or Fleet Foxes, very much in the shoegazing genre which I do enjoy. The vocals were clear and the keyboards put to good effect as a background to the guitar playing. Just when they sounded as if they were beginning to sound a bit samey, they changed the tempo to round off thirty minutes of very enjoyable music. A great start to the evening and a band that I can highly recommend listening to.

Next up were Missing Kids, a two-piece that I assume come from the York area, as that's mostly where they seem to perform. Mr D'Mudie sings and play guitar, whilst Miss S'Anderson drums and provides backing vocals. The vocals were muffled, clearly they couldn't blame the sound system, their songs were full of dreary riffs and never went anywhere. It wasn't so much that the wheels came off, they were never on in the first place. It was a miserable set with pregnant pauses between each song punctuated by needless strumming.

We were hoping that the final band were going to lift the evening. The ABC Club (and on on FaceSpace), a 5-piece from Leeds with a fair bit of hype surrounding them. The band are; Zandra Klievens (vocals), Jordan Radcliffe (guitar), Jack Haigh (bass), James Burkitt (drums), David Barber (guitar). Musically they played well, Klievens came across as a bit 'Morrisey' with her thick sweater, arms behind her back, and motionless stance, but she sang well. The performance was strangely stilted. It appeared that the drummer and the lead guitarist were the only ones who actually wanted to be there, the rest just seemed to be going through the motions. When I judged them to be about half-way through their set, I nipped off to the toilet and when I came back they were gone! It seems that the rhythm guitarist had put his instrument down, the lead guitarist had flung his to the floor and they had all stormed off in a huff. All very unprofessional and I can only think that there is some unresolved tension within the band. Just a bit rubbish really.

So, a bit of a strange evening but we did get to hear one outstandingly good band, Sombre, so not a complete waste of time.

Here's my debt to you, I wanted to say I breathe for you / But you are a world away, a world away

Friday 21 January - Musically, there hadn’t been much to tempt us out so far this year, but tonight we were off to Fibbers to see four bands that I’d seen before, so I was pretty sure that we were going to enjoy ourselves.

I’m still not happy with Fibbers as a live music venue. It has no character and the drinks are exorbitantly priced. Anyway, we arrived about half way through the first of four acts, Boss Caine (Dan Lucas). The crowd was a bit thin on the ground but those that were there made up for their lack of numbers by the volume of their chat, all of which left Dan struggling to be heard and reduced his songs to a rather lacklustre drone, even when accompanied by Vin North on harmonica for the last two or three songs.

The second band to play were The Blueprints. Now I’d not seen these since early 2008 and the band have undergone some changes since then; Stuart Allan (vocals and guitar) and Russ Broadbent-(drums and vocals) still form the core of the band, with new (to me) boys Mark Waters (bass) and Tom Williams (keyboards and vocals) joining them. Their style of playing was also greatly improved. I quite liked them previously but tonight they really blew my socks off with their up-lifting, indie music and slightly squeaky vocals. Recommended.

Band three were one of my favourite York bands, 98Pages (and on FaceSpace), a power blues trio consisting of Martyn Fillingham (guitars and vocals), Jase Brooks (bass), and Andy Black (drums). Their debut album Broken Homes And The Halfway House was released in 2009 and since then they have added an enormous amount of new material to their canon of work. I only recognised about three of their songs. The new stuff is louder, darker, cleverer, but there’s more soft material too, edgy, moody. Martyn speaks of wanting to release some EPs and maybe another album this year; well he has plenty to pick and choose from. This band is really taking off, very highly recommended.

The headline act tonight was The Buccaneers. Originally a three piece consisting of Andre de Gaye (guitar & vocals), Leo Wild (bass), and Jonny Gatenby (drums & vocals), their ranked swelled in April 2010 with the addition of Vin North (acoustic guitar & harmonica) previously of Hijak Oscar. On previous occasions I’ve been somewhat underwhelmed by The Buccaneers style of garage R’n’B and I’m afraid to say that was the case tonight. Maybe it was because The Blueprints and 98Pages were so good, maybe it was because the clubbers had started trickling in early and were busy chatting away, oblivious to the fact that a live band was playing. Whatever, I simply felt a bit disappointed. Sorry guys.