April 26, 2005
First up is Big Strides, a three piece from London who consist of a guitarist, a vocalist, a harmonica player, a double bassist and a drummer. They straight away kick into an interesting and fresh brand of Jazz induced funk rock with a blues and country underbelly. I have heard similar music from across the big pond by bands such as G-Love and The Special Sauce but no-one in this country has really put a label on this feel good, chilled out brand of bouncy funk rock yet. Musically they are very good, with a lot of energy and some beautiful dynamics and well-structured songs, both music lovers and musicians will be impressed by this act. The Double Bass adds a really sexy and jazzy feel to the music and with a good tight drummer and a lively and charismatic frontman.
These guys really got the crowd buzzing. It was also really nice to see a band with a fresh and original feel. There is certainly a gap in the market for a band like this to fill and Big Strides really showed tonight that they are good enough to fill it. With a mix of Jazz, Funk, Blues and Rock and some really good dynamics, I’d think this music could appeal to people from a wide range of musical tastes. I will be keeping an eye out for these guys in the future as I really enjoyed there set.
Nottingham’s own punk rock favourites, Hinterland are second to take the stage, and straight away smash the sound up ten fold. The bouncy and catchy lyrics of Hinterlands songs never fail to impress and as the guitar bursts in and the drums crash through in a real old-skool, heavy brand of muddy punk rock with insanely catchy lyrics. I always feel the instinct to bounce about and smash stuff up when I hear Hinterland. I reviewed their single (Got A New drug) a while ago and live Hinterland are even heavier and in-your-face than on their recording. I just knew I would be leaving this gig with one of their catchy hook lines in my head. I think the heavy feel to Hinterlands live set really adds a new dimension to there songs, as it not only makes it impossible to ignore them (its like they head-butt their music right into your forehead) but also when they do calm the music down a little in gives it an extra dimension which just adds to the energy when it builds back up again. As I said in my review last time, I think if you like heavy old-skool sort of punk you should enjoy Hinterland, its not gonna blow any minds as far as ‘new sounds’ go but not many bands about are playing punk rock music with so much venom and balls, which as far as I am concerned is how punk rock should be.
I don’t think the crowd was really up for this sort of music though tonight. If this venue had been a bit dirtier with a few more tattoos and piercings and a few less designer shirts and wonky fringes, there might have been a huge mosh pit. As it was the crowd seemed to get restless half way through the set which was a pity as Hinterland put in a very good performance, playing effortlessly through a tight and catchy set. I thought they played with a lot of energy and tried hard to work up a difficult crowd. I am sure they kicked more hairy ass than the social has probably seen in a while Hinterland are a great rock band. The Social is not a great rock venue. I look forward to seeing them again with a more diverse audience.
So the venue is packed, and the room is buzzing, there is a sense of huge expectation in the air, so who are all these people here to see? Arctic Monkeys are Sheffield’s biggest rising stars and they headline tonight. The crowd go crazy and suddenly kick into life as Artic Monkey take the stage, I thought the crowd was too scared to mosh (in case they split beer on the designer shirts or messed up there nicely gelled hair) but I was very wrong. As Artic Monkey kick into their first song, the crowd, who had been fairly not been overly interested, suddenly went crazy, Beers flew through the air and drunken student bodies started flying everywhere. Artic Monkey certainly have a good and loyal following for a rising band especially one who aren’t really local. They were very tight and had a punky, bouncy feel to their brand of radio-friendly Indie Garage rock. This sort of music is catchy and very in-fashion at the moment but I just feel its a bit late for a band like this to make it big now. The Libertines, Razorlight and Franz Ferdinand have been filling this market very successfully for a while now and even though Artic Monkey are very, very good at what they do and have a nice twist to their music and very catchy lyrics which the crowd seemed to know well, I am not sure that this train hasn’t already left the station. They had a nice 90’s feel not to dissimilar to Blur at times, and also I felt the singer had a nice vocal even though there stage presence was slightly lacking in parts (I have no idea why it took them so long in between songs). Their songs had good dynamics and a nice bouncy feel and showed a nice mix of influences. If I had heard this band 5 years ago I would have been pretty excited, but now I hear this sort of music every time I turn on the radio. The student population might still love this, but I feel that this trend of garage soft punk rock is coming to an end and Artic Monkey will be lucky to get far with this unless they add something new to their sound. Its a pity really cause I felt they were a lot better at it than some signed bands I have heard but this market is already over crowded and catered for. If no new sound comes into fashion soon, Artic Monkey might be the next big thing but I feel they are a bit late for this class. Still was fun to see such a drunk chaotic crowd go so mad and I enjoyed the stage invasion!
Review – Gaz Photos – Glynn
Written By Gaz
Photos ~ Glynn
