This gig was postponed from its original date of December 4th, 2015 to Friday Night, February 5th, 2016. Certainly gave my night some purpose and energy - though maybe a little too much? I'll let you be the judge.
Starting a little late, Indie rockers The Velvet Hands made their appearance at 8.20pm. In comparison to most bands I'd seen at this venue, they drew a much more serene crowd - an observation which the next two bands would contradict - however, that did not detract from the experience. So many bands came to mind as they strolled through their set: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, even a dash of Green Day? (which having skimmed their site biography, I found to be scarily accurate!) And I say strolled because, aside from a few microphone volume issues, these guys felt very at ease on stage, expressing a rich sort of energy, which affected me as well as the increasing swell of people in front of the stage, particularly from Dan Able's energetic shredding.
I would also like to wish the drummer a belated Happy Birthday for that night, and thank Toby Mitchell for the free single having told him about this impending blog. (I hope I did good! You really stood out for me.)
Following a short interval, the heavily instrumental Swedish Death Candy made their appearance in true psychedelic fashion. The visual alone was enough to entrance me, playing against a projected swirling liquid backdrop, but the pounding discordant intro and floor-rippling bass got my attention still further - as it did for everyone else in the now-crowded room, the 'pit' coming alive with movement. I thought I sensed a little bit of The Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana without their usual calm, but I genuinely couldn't pin down anything to compare this band to with their chaotic maelstrom of reverberating riffs, heavy drums, and dreamy (though often drowned) vocals. I won't deny Swedish Death Candy gave it their all that night, however contrary to my initial introduction through their Bandcamp, it became somewhat tough to differentiate between one song and the next. I shall leave it to your own personal taste what to make of them as I move onto the final act.
YAK. The name alone was just as intriguing as that of their support acts. I had given them a listen before buying my ticket and found Plastic People to be an infectious tune so again, I knew pretty much what I was in for....I might have been a little too quick to judge in that respect though.
A mere trio of a band yet they had quite a fanbase, and managed to blast out more power than I had thought possible for two guitars. Similarly frontman Oliver Burslem (looking freakishly like a young Jeff Beck) made a few ballsy jaunts across the pit, crowd-surfing mid-song (apologies for picture quality but those are Oliver's legs on the ceiling!)The mosh pit was wound up at one point, held teetering by the music before it exploded like cornstarch on a speaker. By the apparent end, YAK's final song was now on a simmer, punctuated by Oliver's primal screams, but never quite boiling over like before; this was rectified by the much-demanded riff-packed encore.
Then it was all over and the dust could settle on The Underground once more.
My thanks to all who played last night! May your fame continue!
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