November 19, 2004
Playing their first ever gig stickers.for.kids started nervously and within a few minutes it became clear that the timing was off whenever the drums werenÂ’t helping it along, and so it didnÂ’t help when the drummer slipped up a couple of times. It was only in the first two songs we noticed this, after which nerves seem to settle, and timing and regularity improved. As did the female vocalistÂ’s seemingly monotonous voice, which didnÂ’t seem so expressionless once they got going, yet regrettably didnÂ’t get much stronger, as verses were a little mumbled and choruses didnÂ’t quite hit the height you really wanted them to. However the vocal patterns were well thought out, and had a kind of almost spoken, pleasant folk edge to them. The guitar switched regularly from clean and bright, to distorted riffs, creating a full sound. There was nothing necessarily missing from Sticker For KidsÂ’ sound musically, great changes in tempo, and volume were frequent, unfortunately the vocals were unable to keep up with such dynamics.
Project Owl were up next, and I gotta say that this is the first time IÂ’ve seen a singer read a set worth of lyrics from a scrap of paper! Despite this clear lack of practice, you couldnÂ’t argue with the integrity and tightness of the performance.They had a smooth and very pleasing ska/funk/soul fusion of genres, with effortless funky guitar, and jazzy bass sections included, a very original and interesting sound. They used their sound well to generate a climactic and building feel to each of their songs, and played with the crowdÂ’s mood a little using slower and faster but equally heartfelt tracks.They played a medley of adapted covers including Soft CellÂ’s Tainted Love, these went down with the crowd well, but despite the effect of Project OwlÂ’s air on the crowd, they neglected to give the audience a little attention between songs, and kept themselves pretty much to themselves during songs, they let their music do the talking.
Knocking us up a gear Osiris brought some three-piece punk rock into the equation. The music that was put forth was pretty good, but it lacked something distinctive and new. It was typical modern punked up rock, deprived of a bit of imagination, which was reflected in the rather monotonous guitar riffs. It was achingly clear that there was only one guitar on stage. The lead vocals were strong and clear, but the backing vocals were unevenly placed, and ended up being a bit confusing. As the set went on a few light hearted solos were thrown in which raised the points awarded for guitar work a little. Despite all i was impressed with the good creative structure that each song had, and the political themes that some songs portayed. they spat out a crowd pleaser near the end in the form of Gay Bar by Electric Six, but also played a Hendrix cover to make up for it a bit. Overall, I think Osiris could be described as a very English, not-so-cheesy Danko Jones.
Roof Attack were here to play their last ever gig, and they didn't dissapoint anyone. They had a beautifully flowing structure that applied to both their songs and their set. The crunchie, dominant guitar and smooth, soft bass mixed brilliantly, and without even appearing to try the backing vocals perfectly harmonised with the lead. Unfortunately those lead vocals were not quite strong enough to live up to the powerful, and ever changing, grinding, stoner rock that the band conjured up. There were lengthy melodic instrumental sections, which were obviously influenced by the likes of Tool.Although the set followed a general mood, this didn't stop each song having a subtle difference, whether it was a change in tempo of tone, they managed to define each track well. Roof Attack's stage presence was engaging, and when they played some of their earlier stuff it was easy to see the way in which their music had progressed, into what we saw tonight for the first and sadly the last time.
Written By Steph
Photos ~ Glynn
