THE LONGCUT + The Suzukis
Date: 12th December 2003
Support: Loose Cannon
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After a bumpy start to the evening – there was a power cut and everything was delayed by almost an hour, ‘The Dry Bar’, Manchester seemed to be the best place to be on the 12th December, to go and see unique and contrasting unsigned bands from the area. Loose Cannon, Silent Quarter, The Long Cuts, The Suzukis and The Boy Lacks Patience all patiently waited, smoking cigarettes, supping white wine or Red Stripe or if you were The Suzukis, necking with pretty girlfriends, while the electrician worked his magic. It was worth the wait.
Silent Quarter took to the stage first. I, like the band, come from Salford Uni, so I was particularly interested to hear these guys play. Looking very much the part of some medieval folk band (all kitted out in black and red), the 7 of them sent their harmonic, multi vocal sound soaring round the room. There’s no denying these guys have got talent, whether they’ll appeal to you or not is a different matter. They’ll never be mainstream but then again I don’t think they are aiming to be. Their sound has an eerie, spiritual, hypnotic edge to it; it wails like a banshee yet sooths you at the same time. You could almost smell the incense sticks in the room. It’s not the kind of music I would put on to get me in the mood before a night out, it is however the kind of music I would put on to chill and relax to. Their music’s quite intense, clearly a theme they’re going for, the random showerings of tinsel however were a bit of a bad idea as they counteracted this and made them look a bit on the tacky side. Never the less, you don’t get many groups like this one and you can’t help but remember them.
The next band to grace our ears was ‘The Boy Lacks Patience’. They certainly lightened the atmosphere Silent Quarter had conjured up. These guys I think are very universally appealing. They produce toe tapping songs, each one different from the last - defiantly gets you into the cheery festive spirit. They come across very much as Mr. Nice Guys and even when they f**ked up their second to last song, took it all in their stride. They definatly had the support of the audience behind them. Being very melodic rock, they lack that gruff rawness from previous successors. They are however very easy listening, perhaps I thought, slightly tongue in cheek too. (They had songs about working in a call centre and legend Bob Dylan - an influential figure to them I imagine). I would not be at all surprised if this group does well, I think we’ll be hearing a lot more of them in the not too distant future…
‘The Suzukis’ were defiantly the most rock n roll band out of the three. To look at, these fellas look like your average indie kids. That is until front man Chris Veesi sparks up a fag, ruthlessly grabs hold of the microphone and their loud and proud sound explodes into the room. By this time the room was rammed and the energy and passion flying out from the band was soon lapped up and reciprocated from the crowd. Their sound is very punk, garage rock. The overall package reminded me of something that was a cross between The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Sex Pistols. These guys whilst on stage live the dream, their drummer in particular Stu, was an inspiration. They are not as polished as the previous groups yet their enthusiasm and determination to make you sit up and listen keeps you gripped. Not even with one of their pissed up mates that insisted on standing on stage with them, swaying with a pint of lager, could put these guys off. Here is a band that in years to come will never be out of the tabloids. A fan of punk myself, it is refreshing to see that it is not yet dead, it lives, and festers in ‘The Suzukis’.
Unfortunately due to the previous delay, by the time The Suzukis had finished their set I did not have time to catch Loose Cannon or The Long Cuts. I was particularly disappointed that I didn’t get chance to see The Long Cuts as apparently they have a sound similar to that of ‘The Rapture’, one of my favorite bands. On leaving The Dry Bar I reflected on the high quality of the bands. Manchester has always been renown for its talent in the music industry. I’m glad to say that it’s reputation still remains, thanks to bands like these.
You can catch The Suzukis and The Longcut at Feb 1st Twelve Festival, Jabez Clegg.
Gabby Sanderson
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