Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Last night's music
What it actually was, was the Levi's One To Watch tour, where three "up and coming" bands perform in quick succession. Strewn around the lounge area of Barfly were postcards showing off past alumni of the OTW program. How very corporate, an "incubator" for the latest pre-testosterone band sensations.
Before the music began playing we grabbed a quick chicken n' pizza at the local grease merchant, and caught the first act just after they started playing. Snow Fight in the City Centre are a horribly named, slickly produced sextet who happen to play very radio friendly, approachable rock. Shame I can hardly remember the tunes themselves. "Listen" was a standout, as were the synchronized flailings of the keyboarder and their lead, who managed to NOT give off the patent preppy angst that's pretty much standard issue these days.
Well into my third whiskey and coke, Ghosts finally played. Throughout their set lead singer Simon was bedeviled by technical problems, but nevermind. The songs themselves felt like this summer's new anthems. Of the three who played they felt the most musically consistent and familiar with the stage and with the material. "The World is Outside" and their opening track (whose name I didn't catch" were both standouts.
Lastly, Air Traffic stepped out on the stage looking as though they just stepped out of their school jumpers. I guess whoever signed them thought "Yeah, next Arctic Monkeys!" Their set was entertaining but was a musical jumble of Radiohead-y angst, Coldplaylike atmospheric piano and even Green Day ish punk speed guitar. The highlight for me was the lead singer / keyboardist, a tall boy with a pneumatic mouth who sang in Thom Yorke territory while keeping his musical credibility (no fake, eyes-closed-head-shaking bullshit). He sang the way the music felt; very ragged and very real.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. We managed to close out with a hastily grabbed pint before catching the last train back to Chester. Who knows, maybe we can bask our aura of superiority when one of these bands makes Glastonbury. "Ghosts? bah. I was there way back when..."
Before the music began playing we grabbed a quick chicken n' pizza at the local grease merchant, and caught the first act just after they started playing. Snow Fight in the City Centre are a horribly named, slickly produced sextet who happen to play very radio friendly, approachable rock. Shame I can hardly remember the tunes themselves. "Listen" was a standout, as were the synchronized flailings of the keyboarder and their lead, who managed to NOT give off the patent preppy angst that's pretty much standard issue these days.
Well into my third whiskey and coke, Ghosts finally played. Throughout their set lead singer Simon was bedeviled by technical problems, but nevermind. The songs themselves felt like this summer's new anthems. Of the three who played they felt the most musically consistent and familiar with the stage and with the material. "The World is Outside" and their opening track (whose name I didn't catch" were both standouts.
Lastly, Air Traffic stepped out on the stage looking as though they just stepped out of their school jumpers. I guess whoever signed them thought "Yeah, next Arctic Monkeys!" Their set was entertaining but was a musical jumble of Radiohead-y angst, Coldplaylike atmospheric piano and even Green Day ish punk speed guitar. The highlight for me was the lead singer / keyboardist, a tall boy with a pneumatic mouth who sang in Thom Yorke territory while keeping his musical credibility (no fake, eyes-closed-head-shaking bullshit). He sang the way the music felt; very ragged and very real.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. We managed to close out with a hastily grabbed pint before catching the last train back to Chester. Who knows, maybe we can bask our aura of superiority when one of these bands makes Glastonbury. "Ghosts? bah. I was there way back when..."
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