 |
|
|
|
| NEWS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BANDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some
days, everything just seems to go right doesn't it? Today I made my way
over to Hackney, having just seen the passion restored to my beloved Millwall
FC in a glorious 2-0 victory, which rang in a new era, |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| GIGS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| REVIEWS |
|
|
|
|
|
| FEATURES |
|
|
|
|
| MESSAGEBOARD |
|
| LINKS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
following the manager's sacking in the week. Upon arrival, I had a quick
interview with the thoroughly pleasant Hull band The Favours, had the
tastiest bag of chips I've had in |
|
a long while, and
enjoyed two masterful performances at one of the best venues in London.
The only minor blip
on the pristine horizon was TURISMO, another Hull band,
who while they
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
couldn't
fairly be described as bad, failed to excite after a promising opening,
providing a set comprised mostly of straightforward Britpop, with the
occasional injection of bluesy guitar. It's all delivered with good humour
(and bad Carol Vordeman jokes), but the band lack the stage presence that
can turn bands like this from |
|
 |
|
support acts to
headlining bands.
Stage presence is
something THE FAVOURS have
in abundance in the form of energetic frontwoman Sara, and they have
the tunes to back it up. Songs like 'I Don't Need Anything From You'
are rammed with crunchy guitars, purring vocals and dominant drumming,
driving the attendant Favourettes (the
|
 |
|
band's loyal dance
troupe) into fits of semi-choreographed rapture.
Sara, meanwhile,
disposes of her guitar to prowl the stage (as well as the crowd, and
indeed the stairs and balcony), staring the crowd out
|
|
and
thrashing her head around. But don't make the mistake of assuming that
this band are solely |
|
 |
about
their lead singer - a bunch of Sleeperblokes plodding away in the background
leaving the pretty lead singer to captivate the audience; for |
|
this is a full band
show - Carl hammering the skins from the back, Abba lookalike Martin
ripping out basslines, and guitarist Paul doing the full on rock guitarist
thing during the closing song.
A whole coach load
of fans came all the way down from Hull for the band. It's not hard
to see why.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For
most bands, The Favours' set would be a difficult act to follow, but within
the first thirty seconds of opener 'Hey Gravity', M.A.S.S.
have blown away any fears anyone could have had. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Tonight's
performance was that of a band at the top of their game; not surprising
really, as they've come fresh from a successful European jaunt, not to
mention providing the soundtrack for recent britflick 'Blackball'. The
track they provided, 'Live a Little', is thrown |
|
 |
in
early, the call and response vocals and elastic guitar licks fusing perfectly
before they launch into the 100mph garage rock chorus, as principle singer
Justine (almost unrecognisable from their Truck Fest appearance only a
few months ago) and guitarist Jonny attempt to out pose one another. Justine
just about edges it tonight, matching his every leap with a sultry pose,
and turning feral when the guitars shoot off |
|
|
|
|
|
|
into
the red, before wandering through the crowd to finish the song atop one
of the Ocean's tables. It's rare to find a band to even have one |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
member
with the star quality this pair have in such abundance, to have two just
seems unfair on |
|
the competition.
And it continues,
the band shaking, stalking and stomping their way
|
 |
|
 |
through
the storming 'Give Me a Break'. But it's the new songs that really shine
tonight. Showing off Justine's considerable vocal talents without wallowing
in self indulgence, the new songs have a greater depth and variety than
the heads down rock 'n' roll of their previous output. Perhaps now with
their recent exposure Britain will start to sit up and pay them the attention
that they've received across the rest of Europe. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|