Saturday Night Fever.
by bob osborne. 09.05.10.
Suzuki Method, The Arch Nazards,
Kingfishers Catch Fire. Islington Mill, Salford.
David Nolan is going to have to re-write his musical map of Salford if last night's Helmets for Men show is anything to go by. In the latrine-ally challenged Islngton Mill a packed room saw three fine performances by bands with Salford roots or connections.
First up, as with last Sunday at the Rovers Return, were the unique and compelling
Kingfishers Catch Fire and with more of a stage to perform on vocalist Max Howard’s showmanship was brought to the fore – the rest of the band were exceptionally tight, leading to an excellent opening performance. If I was going to single any one musicians out it would be Leah Hartshorne on drums who drove the band and created a real dynamic against which the other members demonstrated their capacity to deliver fascinating music.
What caught the eye with the
Kingfishers this this time, I think, was the band’s willingness to play with form and structure in their compositions. It’s not just “get the rhythm going and thrash it out” music – there is light and shade and some really effective dynamic in the material with, again, the two closers –
Albatross and This Ship is Sinking building to the climax of an excellent set. The band have just released a two track CD which is worth listening to. (www.myspace.com/kingfishermusic )
It’s worth saying, at this juncture, that getting early to the Mill for
Helmets to see the first band is worth the effort as they are chosen with a serious love for music.
The Arch Nazards were next and were simply exceptional. In fact I cannot think of suitable superlatives for this excellent band. The line up is bass, drums, guitar, and two synthesizers with main man Adrian Flanagan taking the vocal chores. Flanagan knows how to work a room and his memorable, almost cinematic, songs work in creating a hard edged dance feel that got the room buzzing. Standouts for me were “Love is in Town”, and “Thee Sting”, but the tour de force was the band’s re-invention of Olivia Newton John’s “Let's Get Physical” into something altogether more relevant and perhaps dark.
The Sheffield tradition of cutting edge dance music is certainly realised here and with the added bonus of song-writing which moves the mind and well as the body. Scanning the room whilst the band were on I saw a lot of dancing, and many smiles, and I think many new converts to the sound of the Arch Nazards.
And if all that were not enough then Salford’s very own Suzuki Method topped the bill with an energetic and rhythmic performance which had the room bouncing. Unfortunately a couple of technical glitches somewhat upset the flow of the set, but despite this the band delivered a fine performance focusing on the new four track EP being released shortly on Factory Foundation.
The highpoint of the evening being the gold laméd Master of Ceremonies – the sartorially eloquent Mr Jon Coupe – repairing Adam Leishman’s guitar strap mid-song and joining in briefly on vocals on the insanely catchy “Purple Aki”. The crowd, as they say, went wild for the insistent drive of the Suzukis and world domination can only a be short step away for this band.
Kudos and respect again to the Thornboroughs and the Burberys for another excellent evening of quality music at a reasonable prices with all of the bands being paid for their work. Roll on the next one!