August 20, 2009
The Cellar, 20th August 2009
Inventions Of Jerry Darge are a peculiar band. Kind of like Mogwai if they'd been commissioned to write the soundtrack to "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly." Or Snow Patrol if they'd been kidnapped by Mexican bandits and been force fed green chillis. Nice on the ears, but deceptively macabre. Ones to look out for.Huck And The Handsome Fee are next. This is their debut gig, but you could be mistaken for thinking it was their 99th ! Singer Humphrey Astley is a natural born showman; despite the band's set being only four songs long, he treats the set with an intensity worthy of a far bigger set of surroundings. Switching from an upbeat tune about Satan to a slow ballad about the death of summer effortlessly, this band is out to terrorise the senses. Gothic, brooding, yet also strangely humorous, this band have it all in spades.
Next up are Fixers, turning in a truly rock 'n' roll performance ! The guitar amp blows, feedback gets resounded into the crowd, the microphone stand gets kicked over. ROCK N ROLL ! This band display catchy choruses, adept musicianship, and the long lost art of punk rock attitude. You get the feeling that these guys are capable of writing some of the catchiest, most infectious anthems of this age, nearly all the songs are standards in the making. Simply brilliant, make sure you see these guys next time they play live. No, really !
Sadly, headliners The Scholars fail to match all this, despite rave reviews from both the press and the radio. They are, admittedly, very young; they play well, barely hitting a wrong note throughout the duration of their 45 minute set. What they lack, however, is originality. When they learn the art of experimentation, we'll probably have something special on our hands.