MUSIC IN MANCHESTER

"Are they a bit too Cure-ish?"

"Well I don't want to kill him like I do with Robert Smith, so I suppose not" So speaketh Cath Aubergine, a woman who knows her music . Yet like Interpol and Radio 4 before them, the influences are definitely visible at times, particularly in the semi strangled voice of The Bravery (as in being un-afraid, esp. of the future) front man Sam Endicott.  So are the media machine, with reps from the Independent on Sunday, vying for a place alongside the snappers (me included!) inside a packed Roadhouse.

Mind you with the nomadic roots of the individual members, (various states of the USA coalescing in New York before re-locating to their current London base) assimilation of eclectic influences is to be welcomed, though the red eye liner stripe a la REM front man Michael Stipe is possibly best left in back in the make up purse

Impressively, for a short half hour set, one guitarist take to the stage with 6 bottles of beer. So it's straight into the mangled guitars that are wrapped around the keyboards and noises produced by John Conway. "Honest Mistake", "Out of Line" and "Swollen Summer" are discarded with a vigour and a passion that should have the crowd moving more than just their heads ands toes.

Possibly Radio 4 with pace, fun and vitality. Somewhere closer to Razorlight with more pronounced keyboards, they talk about" noises in my Head" and "Leaving it up to you". "Fearless" is a chirpy, uplifting affair, trying to bring a forgotten slice of summer to a cold, November, Manchester night

Eventually, the guitars break free and good old fashioned riffs are dispensed as each guitarist takes it in turn to stand on the (albeit floor mounted) speakers, but Endicott and co have been pacing the stage, striding into the crowd, taking their music to them all night. Thirsty work

Now, have they left any full bottles behind?. No

For a different review of some of these gigs see 

Back to Home Page