March 27, 2006
Theres a good atmosphere tonight at the social, which to say with the doors opening an hour and a half later than expected, is a healthy sign of a good night with the dance floor heaving with people. The first band, from Sheffield, is The Haze. The lead singer immediately runs into singing an arctic monkeys number showing the Sheffield roots. Relaxed and chilled are words describing the stage presence. The sound is different with the guitars providing more noise than Pete Doherty fans outside a court ever could. The band is your typical alternative indie lad band having fun but with a bit more swagger and bite. The guitars and bass merge well and no instrument tries to overpower the other. The bass lines are hearable and make as much importance in the songs as the guitars do. The drummer doesnt just use your every day simple beats either; showing skill and precision. One song in particular vastly sped the tempo up towards the end with the texture soaring from one level to another. The lyrics are emotional but successfully not in a soppy way as the unique vocals masques any sign of tweediness. The set, with song titles including Take it all and save it for the morning, is entertaining even with the interruptions of amps falling over and mic stands knocking pint glasses flying. Theres a few catchy numbers in there which could make a release easily and if the arctic monkeys can do it then whats to stop the other Sheffield bands? It is important to know this band only got together last year so the musical world really is their oyster. Towards the end there a couple of slips with sound not up to scratch but as a whole this is only a minor setback. The last song is the most impressive with the lead singer really getting into it and confidence soaring. The perfect song to blast out your speakers on a hot summers day with a pint in hand. The rest of the crowd seems impressed too so keep your eyes peeled for these young Sheffield lads.
Next is Clarky Cat which straight away merges into an electro/techno tune which certainly gets the crowd dancing their little souls away. The band seems very experimental. With a girl on synthesizers and percussion and simple yet raw joy division influenced guitar melodies. I notice how each band member seems to be doing their own thing and concentrating on what theyre producing. As opposed to playing together without much thought into the sound as a whole. Yet it does fit together and merges quite well indeed. A recent band similar to this would be test icicles except Clarky Cat seem slightly better and more skilled with more apparent electronic influences. The synthesizers make the songs sound much livelier than a drum kit could which is refreshing. The riffs are similar to those indie bands of the likes of the editors and the departure. Now the synthesizers really are a main ingredient of the package but even without this novelty I think the sound would still be good with the skilled guitar melodies. Perhaps a little too skilled as a string snaps and a guitar is borrowed from one of the other bands. The lead singer may be two heads shorter than the rest but his deep and personal sounding vocals make up for this lack of size. They are about everything you want in a band with the girl using jittery dance moves encouraging the crowd and providing entertainment. If you werent happy with having your cake you were then forced to eat it with icing on when the band treated us to another song due to there being extra time which pleased the crowd as they shouted for more. This is a unique sound and could very well be your first summer band if you were wondering who the hell that would be.
Last of the night was like the younger kids looking with awe at the older kids. Which is usually the other way round but the support slots were so good tonight that it was inevitably going to be hard to live up to the standards the social crowd had just been shown. Unfortunately a lot of people left after Clarky Cat and not many stuck around for Red Shed. The band gave the night great contrast as they stormed in with harder/faster/ rockier songs. Many songs are kissed by punk fuelled moments, with loud drum beats and distinctive guitar chords. Some songs almost have a ska feel tot hem without the brass. The sound is very good and encouraged the girly girls to get to the front and have a good time. The band have definitely got style with the lead singer in a Carl barat style hat and leather jacket and another guitarist with an its only rock and roll top and tight jeans. There is definitely rawness and edge in all the songs and was such a change from the indie and electro songs we had been hearing all night. However they didnt seem to show any innovative ideas and seemed the usual run of the mill band. I had already been very impressed with the first two bands. It was a good night enjoyed by all.
Review by Kristi.
