>ALTERNATIVE ROCK
IDOL
THE CROWD, LUDES +
SAN SEBASTIAN
LONDON, PARADISE BAR: 7/10/03
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Fairy lights, cameras, action! Yes the first Alternative Rock Idol Paradise Bar extravaganza is underway, and it's all
San Sebastian
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going rather swimmingly, if we do say so ourselves. There's an exhibition of photography featuring local bands and photographers (myself included), there's a camera crew catching every single moment of the event, and, most importantly, there's a load of people who've come to watch three of the best new bands in the capital today.

First up, teen prodigies SAN SEBASTIAN ply us with their exquisite indie tunesmithery, showing a scarily impressive understanding of what makes a classic song for such a young band. The sound is vaguely reminiscent of Electric Soft Parade's update of vintage Brit pop (The Jam rather than Supergrass), but has a curiously individual quality at the same
time. It does seem near the end that they've maybe played one song too long (not helped by a lengthy break while the guitarist tried to find a replacement string), but they manage to pull us back in with a glorious closing 'Sticks & Stones'.
Ludes

Keep an eye out for this lot, with a little bit of work they could be big.

Being big is something that second band LUDES have had a fair bit of experience of recently. Fresh from a support slot with Electric Six, and a glowing review in NME, and with a single on the way with Double Dragon records, they are a band on top of their game, and tonight Ludes are a fucking revelation: a band of gypsy pirate adventurers tearing electrifying riffs from their instruments and sending the crowd into raptures.

Frontman David Ashby has a magnetic stage presence, drawing the eye even when motionless, while alongside him, guitarists Matt (who appears to be dressed in Dr Who's cast offs tonight) and James, bassist Dominic, and drummer Chris unleash a screaming hotchpotch of musical styles that makes The Coral look one dimensional by comparison.
For Ludes rarely stick to one musical style for more than 30 seconds, bundling together punk rock sneers, indie rock harmonies, ska, skiffle and sea shanties. They are the sound of every guitar band Britain has ever produced, locked in a room to fight it out to the death. They sound

nothing you've heard before, and everything you've ever heard before all at the same time, and if I'm starting to drivel on a bit, it's because I'm still buzzing from their performance two days later as I write this.

I can always tell a great band by how many photos I take of them. When I got home & unpacked the pictures onto my computer, I had 57 pictures of Ludes. Yes, that good.

It's a brave band that would even attempt to follow that, and it's THE CROWD that are left with this thankless task. They make a good fist of it though,

Ludes
their blend of hard edged blues rock (and before you ask, no they don't sound The White Stripes) and mod stylings more than validating their inclusion tonight. It's a sound that is a once full of guile and guts, and their expletive spewing singer certainly knows how to work a crowd,
The Crowd

pulling out searing riff after searing riff, but ultimately it's Ludes set that the people here will be telling their grandchildren about in years to come.

Read interviews with The Crowd and Ludes here

More photos from tonight's gig can be found here

The next Alternative Rock Idol gig is on Tuesday, 14th October at The Paradise Bar, starring Corporation:Blend, My Red Cell & Art Brut.