McLean's (The Pentre Club), Chemistry Lane, Pentre, Queensferry, CH5 2DA
Thursday 29th April 2010
Pictures by Dave Mounter
Review from Richard Hibbert of Academy Images - additional photographs on: http://www.academyimages.co.uk/Blog/Blog.html
Battle of the Bands 2010 - Heat 8
The final heat of this year’s competition was to be contested by four bands - Depart the Sky, Radio Arcade, Final Theory and We Shiver. Radio Arcade were unable to perform, so we were left with a trio of bands to vie for top spot on the night and thereby progress to the semi final stages of the contest. I got the chance to have a brief discussion with all three bands before they appeared on stage, and the musical genre of their music, is self described, with the proviso that they were not allowed to use the term 'alternative'.
In playing order
Depart the Sky
Opening the session were Depart the Sky - no MySpace site for these guys, but http://www.facebook.com/pages/Depart-The-Sky/401892960294?ref=ts. gives you the usual gibber gabber on Facebook for them. Depart The Sky is a trio of young men from Hawarden, featuring Dan Williams - Drums, Nathan Bailey - Bass and Ben Argiropoulos on guitar and their main vocalist. They have been together for only a month, and this was to be their first visit to Pentre, with a four track Rock/Indie set of So Many Times Before and I Don't Know About You, both their own compositions, with two covers - The Vine's, Get Free and Four Kicks by Kings of Leon. Undoubtedly young Nathan had the greatest Ahhhhhhh factor of the evening, and I was reminded of the time I first saw Mountain in '72 when Les West's massive frame made his guitar look like a child’s toy. Tonight the reverse vision was on stage, with the instrument dominating the person. But what of the music - bass and drums, very tight and well co-ordinated - very rhythmic with power without being overbearing. Vocals were well suited to this genre, being both focussed and well delivered throughout. Guitar work was very good, if not overly spectacular, with the exception of a wonderful break during the final track, which together with their opening track were, for me the pick of the set. A very good debut performance and I will look forward to any future visit.
We Shiver
Another trio - from Deeside - We Shiver - http://www.myspace.com/weshiver featuring David Thomas (Bystander / Young Underground) - Vocal/Guitar/Synth, Adam Hughes (I Am Austin) Bass/Synth. and Farris[Greg] - Drums/Vocals, were the second band for the evening. Their Indie/Experimental/Radiohead set of five tracks, all their own! - Cold City(*), Monoliths(*), You're a sinner(*), Mirror Gaze and Coco Damol(*), with the opening and closing numbers being, for me, the pick of the bunch. This outing was the second time I have seen them perform, the first time was when I was so appalled at the venue, I did loose sight of the reason for attendance - listening to the bands. This time however, I was genuinely impressed with this set. Outstanding vocals - which was almost like having a fourth instrumentalist on stage - wonderful drumming, which at times lulled one into a false sense of consciousness, when combined with the often hypnotic vocal delivery style, before Greg's dramatic change of emphasis rapidly brought one back to the frenetic reality of the passage with an all consuming auditory assault, whilst Adam's bass riffs, are as powerful, and complex as ever. What is particularly impressive about this band, is the professionalism of their whole performance, which I really liked tonight. Outstanding performance - nice one.
Final Theory - Heat Winner
Closing out proceedings were Final Theory hailing from Mold and Bagillt, with Tom Bentley on bass / vocals, Sam Messiter - guitar and vocals with Tom Day on drums. Their post-hardcore four track set of Walk Away, Late Nights With You, Do We Exist and Ghosts and Memories, were clearly a hit with the audience. Tom's drumming was impressive - good tight beats throughout, and Mr Bentley's vocals were also somewhat impressive. Once again, this is a really good example of the very subjective nature of judging any musical performance. Winners on the night, and the entry on Panic Promotions' website summing up just how close the decision must have been.
So congratulations to Final Theory on their victory this evening, but congratulations to all the bands that have participated in the heats of this years' competition. Now there are just eight bands left, to contest the semi final stages on either 13th or 20th May, before the Grand Final on the 4th June. There have been some surprises so far, and I'm sure there will be a few more, before this years champions are revealed in June - but isn't that what makes life so interesting?.
Audience
