Amazons in The Gallery (Circus) - Think Tank?

This week has been hectic and last night was no exception. Met with my friend Amy in Bar Loco and mentioned that where we were sitting was when I first encountered Gallery Circus in 2009 see here. I thought two angsty whiny students, turned out I was wrong , they were an excellent part of a great night and were the headline act at a Think Tamk? gig last night. I've seen them a few times since the Bar Loco gig and they get better each time I see them.

Anyway the gig:

Tickets were six quid , a pittance given the four bands you got for the money.

Heist:

Very much the token indie band , not really my scene but they got a good reaction from the crowd.

Cave Suns:

Their tuning up was a welcome noise fest and started off with some monolithic blues reminiscent of Captain Beefheart's "Hard Workin Man" . I've not found any decent video of them but they were more than worth the admission fee alone. Great crowd interaction and they have a new EP coming out soon . Track em down.

Amazons:

The surprising thing about The Amazons was the unfeasible number of guitars, but this four piece were another serving as good as if not better than Cave Suns  The nearest touchpoint was Liverpool's The Sound Of Guns , a great rock band deserving to be headlining at bigger venues. After the y finished their set I said to Amy that Gallery Circus mus be confident to top a line up as good as this and she agreed.

They had a large female following , but the music was riveting rock.

Their Don't You Wanna EP is on Amazon now here. 

Gallery Circus:

I have a confession to make . I don't know the titles of an Gallery Circus songs , but to me they are an irrestistable musical force that needs to be experienced in a live setting without any compromise. Despite an amp failure and disco curfew the did not disappoint. Energy , noise , and some incredibly music from the duo were delivered in spades . They have the "WTF" factor and delivered half an hour of amazing music , culminating unexpectedly with a thunderous take on Ziggy Stardust , which they have been playing for at least a year , but was still a touching reminder of Bowie's departure.


So all in all an amazing night, showing how much grass roots music is alive and kicking in various forms.

The Cult of Hoult's Yard

This weekend I attended one of the best day's music I have seen in ages. The Hoult's Yard Cult Festival  provided some amazing stuff. Three stages , one outdoor , one in Warehouse 34 and one in a garage provided some excellent music. I'm. just going to list what I saw as I missed a lot just becasue of the high quality of everything on offer.

I got there via a Q1 bus , but the place is not very well signposted, but once in there noticed that there werent too many people around , the advertising and local coverage had not been too heavy to say the least. The Yard was dominated by a huge fairground ride surrounded by fairgound junk food stalls mixed with quality sellers such a Safari Burgers , Juniper's Pantry , Idlehands Cup Cakes and an excellent organic cafe who's name slips my mind but sold their coffee in mugs with a 50p deposit. As Kirsty poited out it was Beat Root cafe , brilliant !!

The Music Outdoor Stage:

• Yesterdays Kids - Excellent Festival openers . Started with a listenable song displaying local influences and included the Neil Diamond penned "I'm A Believer" in their set.
• Victory Mansions - another excellent set "Fifty Words" was my favourite song and they were giving away copies of their excellent ep "Corridors" available here.

Garage Stage:

• Matinee were and excellent Franz Ferdinand a like eastern european sounding band.

Warehouse 34:

•  The Generals - I'd heard them on Radio 6 and were the best band I'd heard so far , just more of the great stuff on the day.
•  B>E>A>K> - MAd MAsked Mackem Jazz Rock Collective , Superb Stuff
• The Sound of Guns - The revelation of the day , totally in tune with the Omen and If films running in the background. Future headliners somewhere and absolutely brilliant sound and stage presence.
• King Charles - despite a lengthy soundcheck these are the best pop rock band since Adam and The Ants , their music as addictive as Abba and as eclectic as anyone you have heard and totally addictive . Buy the album , you wont stop playing it!!
• Beth Jeans Houghton - Stunning platinum blonde hair , zombie make up , Can T- Shirts and songs about geometric shapes , what is not to like . Brilliant stuff.
• The Fall - Headliners and tight as a drum , The Fall are The Fall , Mark E Smith his curmudgeonly masterful stage presence erratically sending the crowd wild.

A combination of  tight short set by high quality bands made this a superb memorable day for everyone there , and for everyone who wasn'y .... you don't know what you missed !!