Armageddon on down.
by jc. 30.06.10.
Tuesday night. What to do? I know- let's check out some live music in Salford and sip a few spritzers! So salfordmusic scuttled on down to Acoustic Armageddon.
Acoustic Armageddon is the name of the live music night down at The White Horse in Eccles every other Tuesday night- and it's always a treat. The night is run by young muso enthusiasts Phil Ratcliffe and Sam Lewis and this week featured 4 live acts.
Unfortunately I missed the first act but second up was
Beth Warriner,
a (very) young singer songwriter with a sweet voice and a mixture of old
standards and original material. Her original stuff was much more
interesting than the cover versions so hopefully Beth will have the
courage to drop the Don McLean and Cher numbers soon and concentrate on
ploughing her own furrow. Warriner has a very likeable stage presence, a
powerful voice and a bagful of potential- so remember that you heard her
name here first! Possibly.
Next up was her label-mate from
City Scape Records-
Alex Hulme.
Hulme is all frizzy blond hair and slinky fingers and delivers his brand
of acoustic magic with ease. He also uses one of those loop-type
thingies to flesh out his sound with additional guitar riffs and vocal
harmonies. salfordmusic managed to cadge a
copy of his new EP: The Wood on the night and his live set is built
around the tracks on this EP. An emerging talent, no doubt about it.
Topping the bill were the inimitable Pyjama Party. How to describe them? Well... if you can imagine white funk being played on an electric ukulele, backed by Motown basslines and the insistent thump of the most basic 1980s drum machine all fronted by three-part harmonies then you might be somewhere close.
Featuring Kev from Thingumabob & the Thingumajigs, Aidan Smith from er.... Aidan Smith and some other bloke with a beard, Pyjama Party create the most preposterously catchy tunes you've ever heard- I guarantee it!
But it's not just the catchiness; it's the subject matter too. From the simple "Betty or Ruth", the self explanatory "(Everybody loves) Runcorn" and the crowd-pleasing "Granddad's bicycle" we are suddenly arrested by the off-hand recount of domestic violence with "Roses in the Morning".
This is a band that deliver Salfordian wit and kitchen-sink pathos all rolled into one. Everyone should experience Pyjama Party at least once in their lives. Oh go on.
Acoustic Armageddon is on every other Tuesday at The White Horse, Gildabrook Road, Eccles and the next one will be on the 13th July.