Another Form of Relief

So this blog turns a year old and I disappear entirely for more than a week. That was on the most part an accident as I’ve had a lot going on lately (some good, some not so good), but it seems like an appropriate time as any to have a little break. I’m back now though, and the list of bands to tell you about is even longer than ever, so normal service will be resuming immediately.

The first thing I should get to is the gig I was involved with last Thursday. It was a joint venture with the great folks at Life:Temper:Riot, and saw us putting on four bands in the heart of London. Now I’m a little wary about how to approach writing about this, largely because I’m involved in it and something seems a little wrong about telling you how great it was. So this will be a relatively brief run through of the night, with some mp3s included, so you can try out some of the bands yourself.

Our setting for the evening was the Horse & Groom pub in Shoreditch, a lovely little pub in a Shoreditch backstreet that seems to have not aged since it opened, even though it’s now surrounded by modern office developments. Due to a small organisational error, the night had to be run downstairs, which is the first time the pub has had live music in the main bar area. An impromptu stage is constructed toward the back of the bar, leading to fun things like the “backstage” area also doubling as the route to the toilets.

Captain Phoenix are our first band to take to the stage, and set a suitably rocking tone. I was a little wary about these guys before seeing them, fearing their set would be a little “rock-by-numbers”, but that thankfully turned out to be wrong. By the end of the first song, the not insubstantial crowd seemed to be into them, with upbeat numbers like ‘Living On The Guest List’ being the highly. Given how young the members of the band are, they already sound like they know exactly what they are doing, and they seem destined to break out of the small indie circuit in the near future.

The next band on the bill were rather more polarising. Thomas Tantrum put on a set that I enjoyed on the most part, but they seem to suffer the Ryan Adams syndrome of not knowing when to edit their own output. The good songs in their set are fantastic, but the weaker ones are pretty bad at times. Each song was interesting, and they certainly weren’t afraid to try something new, but they are in need of a producer that will reign in their eccentricities. That said, a lot of the audience did seem to be into them in quite a big way, so who am I to judge?

Talk Taxis were the last band to be added to our lineup, coming straight off the back of touring with the Maccabees. Their set seemed to go by very quickly, although I don’t know if this was due to it being short or me just really enjoying it. Every one of their songs sounded great, bringing a driven, garage rock kind of sound. ‘Publicity’ was the highlight of this, but other songs like ‘Mother’s Eyes’ and ‘Liverless’ also came over very well. These guys will be playing all over London in the coming weeks, so try and check them out if you can.

Our headliners for the evening are Royal Treatment Plant, and they turn in a storming set of songs, from the opening rock out of ‘You Don’t Need Me’, through to their single ‘Carry Me’ and the brutality of ‘Playing Dumb’. Lead singer PP throws herself into the set with such energy that it’s impossible not to be drawn into it. The whole band comes together wonderful, with their guitars, drums and keyboards all getting their chance to shine, without ever sounding too choreographed. By the time we reach our conclusion with the fantastic ‘Trained’, the entire crowd have been won over.

All in all it was a very enjoyable night, and everyone there did seem to have a good time. Now, in case you think I’m just hyping up something I had a vested interest in, here’s another review from Forty Shades Of Noise. They even have some tiny pictures, unlike me, because I didn’t think to take any.

MP3 Royal Treatment Plant - You Don’t Need Me (expired)
MP3 Royal Treatment Plant - Trained (expired)

MP3 Talk Taxis - Publicity (expired)
MP3 Talk Taxis - Mother’s Eyes (expired)

Bands: Royal Treatment Plant || Talk Taxis || Thomas Tantrum || Captain Phoenix

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