GIGS IN FEBRUARY 2008

THE SANDSIFTER, HAYLE (23RD FEBRUARY)

SLEEP GOOD FEEL GOOD

First on tonight`s bill were this Cardiff based band with local connections. The room was packed, but as the band started it was clear that the mixing desk was not doing a great job of balancing the sound in this low ceiling-ed room. The PA was too low and the vocals hard to understand over the far-too-loud bass. This was a great shame because Sleep Good Feel Good are an excellent band, (just listen to the tracks on their myspace page) often unjustly compared to The Stereophonics, (they are so much better), but tonight battling against a rogue sound system setup was hardly a true picture of their potential.

But battle on they did, and with some indie/punky tunes led by Owen Griffiths, (looking not unlike John Power from The Las/Cast), on vocals and guitar and some excellent work by the best drummer of the night (step forward Mr.Oliveri), finishing a short set to great applause.

In retrospect, I`m really annoyed that the performance was marred by the sound at The Sandsifter, because if the demos I`ve heard are anything to go by, this is an excellent band with cracking songwriters - catchy as hell, but with a real sense of purpose.

I`m going to make it my business to catch them next time they come back to Cornwall (at a different venue!) and I`d advise you to do the same.

THE UNDERGROUND PRESS SYNDICATE

Second on the bill came local band The UPs. With some bizarre dress code straight out of Brideshead Revisited, (all braces and cravats), Jo, Jack, Jake and Sam, (I wouldn`t like to say which is which, but I`m hoping the bass player is called Jack), played their equally short set with enthusiasm and verve. A little funky Chili Peppers stylie thang going on in some of their songs, which made for an interesting combination with the look of the band, in others I could hear the Babyshambling vocals occasionally over the jangling guitars. I imagine that when they headline gigs the sweat is pouring off them and the audience, but tonight with their placing on the billing, I felt that they were holding back a bit in their performance.

Again the sound system was causing problems for us to hear what was being played/sung, in fact the second mic only actually got to the right level as the last song was halfway through.

Clearly a well polished band that will excell when given the right live sound mix.

THE SYCAMORES

God only knows why The Sycamores weren`t headlining tonight, but as it was we got to see why these boys are causing such a stir on the local scene and must be a sure thing for a gong at the next local award shindig.

The crowd were by now (11.15ish) fairly sweaty, pissed and jumping all around, so when Jason, Robbie, San and Kenny started up they were guarenteed a good reaction, (not many unsigned bands get a cheer from the local audience just for stepping up onto the stage).

Playing a new set of tunes like The Theory of it All that both followed the themes of the older material and at the same time stretched The Sycamores further onwards and upwards, they lept into action like the mentalists that they are. A touch of Buzzcocks here, a touch of Gang of Four there, Jamie T at times, Jack P at others; The Sycamores are all these and more. A combination of everything they`ve ever heard and something that has yet to be created, this band are not pigeons and you won`t stick `em in a hole with stupid labels and musings of the lazy.

In this local scene thats having it`s golden years as we speak, The Sycamores are at the forefront of the push for national, (and international if I have anything to do with it!), success and recognition. They are the great white Cornish hope for 2008 without a shadow of doubt or competition in my opinion.

Stunning.

(Photos by Lord Itchfield)

www.myspace.com/thesycamores

www.myspace.com/undergroundpresssyndicate

www.myspace.com/sleepgoodfeelgood

THE TUCKSHOP @ L2, TRURO (5TH FEBRUARY)

THE COURTEENERS, DISPLACEMENTS & THE REELS

Review by Joseph Maguire

On a dreary Tuesday night in Truro the last thing you’d normally expect to find is 250 sweaty bodies pogoing to the one of the hottest bands of the moment. This sort of event is normally what we (live music lovers that is) have to travel some distance to witness, normally a small mission up the A30 to Exeter.

It was then a total breath of fresh air to see L2 in Truro transformed from its usual guise of sweaty commercial nightclub into the coolest indie emporium to be seen this side of the Tamar complete with a real tuck shop selling a vast array of retro sweets and giving away free CD’s.

As the venue doors opened local band The Reels took to the stage to be the first to play SW1 Productions, re-launched, ‘Tuck Shop’, an Indie club night dedicated to bringing the hottest new ‘buzz’ bands to play our little city.

The Reels played a spine tingling set, they really are Cornwall’s dark horse, their potential as our most promising export was proven here, and that was even with a drummer who had had his appendix out a mere five days before! With anthems in waiting like ‘Me and the Kid’ and ‘Mondayze’ it really can’t be long before we see The Reels gaining the national success they surely deserve.

Next up were Leicester’s The Displacements. Hailing from the same little village that gave us Kasabian, The Displacements played a crowd pleasing set of instantly memorable indie pop with an irresistible two step undertone ideal for those donning their dancing shoes. By the end of March we may have to claim them as our own with another two performances due in the county between now and then, one as main support to Indie heavyweights The Twang at The Stannary in Falmouth on 17^th Feb and another later in March at Club Cuckoo, Falmouth.

Resident Tuck Shop DJ’s the Earls of Suave kept things moving in between bands with their usual ‘latest and greatest’ policy on the playlist front getting people moving nicely in time for the headline act.

Taking to the stage in front of the most enthusiastic crowd I have seen for some time The Courteeners ripped straight into ‘Acrylic’ and the audience where instantly in fine voice singing along every word to a somewhat overwhelmed looking band!

It was immediately evident how lucky we were to have this band in Truro. I must say I had been expecting yet another indie guitar band thinking they were The Libertines but The Courteeners have something a little more, they are by no means innovative but somehow seem go the extra mile and are a great live band.

Front man Liam Fray has the Northern swagger and rock star qualities of another certain Liam but with a charm and charisma that the Gallagher could only dream of. This band have been lumbered with ‘the next big thing’ label for so long that many would find it a burden but it seems that The Courteeners fully embrace this idea and definitely have the potential to exceed this clichéd mantle.

Set closer ‘What took you so long’ (predicted by NME as a future number one) closed the first Tuck Shop at L2 in spectacular style with the crowd firmly eating out of their hands and surging towards the stage, to the obvious dismay of the bouncers, it really was a good sight to be seen.

(Photos by Lee Searle)

www.myspace.com/thereelsband

GIGS IN JANUARY 2008

THE M.I. BAR, FALMOUTH (28TH JANUARY)


THE UPS, NERVOSA, ANDREW BATE, DISCO PIP, THE PITTS & MY ELVIS BLACKOUT

(Photos & review by Melanie Banks)

The West Briton announced the event as "The Best of Cornish Music" so it was time to see if the eclectic line up lived up to the hype...

With the venue still filling, first up were The Underground Press Syndicate, a band that hadn't appeared on my radar before. Their set was a stop start affair, with a promising, if not very original, sound. Think all that NME tells us is cool right now, with jabbing guitars and Kate Nash style affected vocals, and your almost there. It wasn't particularly tight, or inspiring, but wasn't bad. They lost the crowd a little with their uninspired chatter in between songs, preferring to shift the focus onto their t-shirt sales and sunglasses, rather than concentrate on the job at hand.

Something the next band, Nervosa most certainly did do. There were no awkward pauses or jokes without punch lines, and they were tighter than an emo's jeans. Interesting instrument selection, with an old 80's organ, mandolin and dj decks, and songs that defy the current trends, opting for the anthemic over the endemic. Not necessarily the band that would get you dancing round the room like a deranged monkey, but quite possibly the band whose infectious riffs and hooks would loop round your brain for days on end.

A change of pace with Andrew Bate. Wildly hyped as the Cornish Jeff Buckley, I was intrigued. Then a little disappointed. I'm all for falsetto, but there was something in his vocal performance that just made me feel slightly uncomfortable, and the crowd's chatter was more audible than him at times. Maybe that's the problem with being compared to someone so great, it just makes you want to reach for the original.

Next up, the new Marvin and the Gayes/I Say Marvin, Discopip, who sound, well, just like I Say Marvin. An energetic performance, which encouraged a handful of drunken dancers to spasm all over the place to the amusement of the rest of the crowd. They had a couple of great tunes, but you had to wait for them. With a set that seemed twice the length of any that had gone before, maybe this was indicative of the amount of filler they had shoehorned in.

The Pitts, (Tom Pitt) proved to be far from it. Banging on his guitar as if it were a drum kit, and encouraging the crowd into a stamping/shouting along routine, his lyrics of sweaty genitalia and songs about "that bitch from Leeds" brought smiles and cheers from the crowd. His brand of genre defying, self depreciating musicianship was a breath of fresh air.

The whole night, however, seemed to have been set up for one purpose, for the benefit of My Elvis Blackout, although it remains to be seen whether the rigging of the competition rumours prove to be true. Much has been written, glowingly, about them, but this had obviously escaped the attention of the crowd who had dwindled to half the size before MEB took to the stage. They know how to put on a performance, but it's all meat and no sandwich, and after a few numbers, it started to wear a little thin. I could go on, but I'm sure a glowing review will appear in the West Briton this week, so why not subscribe to the hype instead?

So Red Stripe, it's over to you.

www.myspace.com/nerv0sa

www.myspace.com/undergroundpresssyndicate

www.myspace.com/thpitts

www.myspace.com/discopip

www.myspace.com/andrewbate

www.myspace.com/myelvisblackout