THE FRONT ROW

Ok, no time for fancy introductions. Strap-in. It was a busy night. We have a lot to get through.

Opening artist of the night, for what turned out to be an excellent line-up at Birkenhead’s Future Yard were Trout. Trout is the nom de guerre of Cesca, a Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) alumnus, around whose considerable vocal skills and song-writing talents the band revolve. She opened her set with the dark and mournful Gutter. Between songs the crowd craned forward and strained to hear Cesca’s delicate, whispered introductions.

However, during her set, judicious use of chorus effects during songs like Garden and Bugs, brought a dreamy, depth and dynamism to her vocals that had echoes of Elizabeth Fraser. This coupled with uncomplicated, voluminous guitar riffs gave Trout a heady, shoegazery sound. A quick word about the band’s drummer (they never get much attention), who impressed with Keith Moon mannerisms and commendable degree of restraint and precision. I think he hit his cowbell once, but it was in the right place, at the right time, in the right song .

In her mission statement London based Aziya claims that ‘I produce songs I would want Debbie Harry to sing, Prince to co-produce, and John Bonham to drum on’. I love the confidence, and attention to detail inherent in that clause about Prince only being a co-producer. Opening song Atomic finds Aziya stood clad in a Wu-Tang Clan t-shirt, playing an electronic drum, supported by a traditional drummer, and a set of backing loops and tapes. It looked as though we were in for a particularly percussive set. The song would have had an electronic, gothic, post-punk feel to it were it not for Aziya’s soulful, emotive vocals taking it in a different direction.

For second song Chain, she put down her drumsticks and picked up her guitar which remained in place for the rest of the set. Party’s Over was a newish song about avoiding missed opportunities, and it was shot through with a guitar riff reminiscent of early material from The Cure. Virgin Suicides, a song inspired by the 1999 Kirsten Dunst film of the same name, saw Aziya suitably unaccompanied, highlighting the song’s theme of vulnerability. An intriguing set was brought to a climatic conclusion with Wundagirl and Slip! a song whose stop-start, loud-soft drums were very Royal Bloodish.

Future Yard wasn’t quite at capacity as the night’s headliners took to the stage, but it was a decent turnout considering it was a stormy Tuesday evening outside.

By the end of Hot Wax‘s set I wished that I could have seen a Sky Sports type ‘Heat Map’ for the amount of stage covered by singer/guitarist Tallulah Sim-Savage, and bassist Lola Sam. They metaphorically covered every blade of grass and worked their socks off. Drummer Alfie Sayers played a blinder at the back and was a faultless libero, coming to the fore when the occasion arose.

The Hastings trio started with Tell Me Everything Is Alright and proceeded to play an outstanding set of tunes that in rock terms had the lot. Treasure was a pacey anthem, filled with classic rock, Led Zeppelin and Cream, guitar riffs. Phone Machine saw singer Sim-Savage up-front spitting lyrics a-la Hole and L7. E Flat and High Tea offered Lola Sam the opportunity to stretch her fingers and play some of the funkiest rock basslines that you’ll hear this side of a RATM song. The latter song also contained a powerful drum solo that belied Alfie Sayers slight frame. A Thousand Times was a psychedelic tour de force, choc-a-bloc with grungy, soft-loud volume changes, and a myriad of tempo changes – a one point going into 3/4 waltz mode.

Stylistically Hot Wax’s performance exhibited an exhilarating and flamboyant glam/punk cross-over in a New York Dolls kind of way, and was delivered with a Manic Street Preachers passion and energy. Easily one of the best performances I’ve witnessed this year was brought to a close with the epic, screeching, headbanging Rip It Out. Can’t wait to see them again.

Ian Dunphy