If one thing really irritates me then it is the bloke (it is always a bloke) at the back of the gig who, at the end, opines how the band “were a bit too samey”, or they “didn’t quite get it”, or it “was OK, but nothing special”, or they’ve “seen it done better by other bands” and then goes on to list a load of obscure or not-so-obscure bands that were (or are) apparently better.

This bloke, in various guises, plagued me yesterday. At the end of Man Of Moon, The K, Diet Cig, and Black Honey I heard various pompous, patronising and pissy comments from people who clearly spent their lives going to gigs and telling people how they weren’t as good as other gigs they’ve been to…

So for the record, Man Of Moon were nothing like Hawkwind, but did deliver an excellent set of spacey psychedelia. The K were nothing like Rage Against the Machine, but did shred their guitars with the best of them, Diet Cig were nothing like Pavement, but instead provided the best set I’ve seen so far and in Dinner Date have (their own) indie-punk classic. Local heroes Black Honey were nothing like “Lush-lite”, but instead wowed a crowd with surfy guitars and high octane indie anthems.

In between these I was blown away by the visceral punk rock of Otherkin,  pleasantly transfixed by the dark, throbbing electro-indie of Drones Club, and sadly disappointed by Eagulls who I had been eagerly waiting for all day. They seemed infected by a somewhat thin and disinterested crowd and the slightly new direction taken on their new record didn’t translate well live and felt flat and diluted compared to their storming debut. Nerve Endings was a standout, but I will resist the temptation to say I’ve seen it done better by other bands…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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