With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

This was my first visit to the Vaults in a while, I will definitely try not to leave it too long until my next visit to this great little venue, especially after such a great lineup. First to take to the stage were the Rosemaries, a band that I saw for the first time back in April. I thought they were pretty good then, but in just a few months they are definitely a stronger band. While “Hullabaloo” is perhaps a derivative nod to Yard Act the band has oodles of originality too. They are a young band with immense potential. Their songs pack great power and their confidence is obvious. “Vampire” is a punk anthem in waiting. The singer has a great skill of not only singing but also drawing on a wonderful thespian vibe to make it much more of a performance like he is living the songs. The non-singing guitarist seems to be the musical glue that holds the whole Rosemaries unit together, like their musical director. If ‘Twin Peaks’ was ever remade and set in a remote English village this lot could be the house band in the English equivalent of the Roadhouse/ Bang Bang Bar.

Captain Starlet were next, they are a band who for various reasons I have not managed to see play live until now. I love the band name and surely they need to be on the same bill as the Mysterines one day. OK, you might need to be quite old to get that reference! So is the band as good as the name? Well if the Beatles were reincarnated as an indie Little Feat they would probably sound like this. The songs are incredibly well put together with elements of Pete Wylie, the Zutons, and Cast, along with the aforementioned Beatles. It looked like they were loving it on stage. Definitely a band I want to see live again.

I had not heard of Rory and the Nature Kids until this show. They carry an undercurrent of menace in their music, a la early Talking Heads. At times while reaching, and hitting, the high notes the vocals came on like a warped psychedelic yodel, and yes I do mean that in a good way! The bass sound was often worthy of Jah Wobble, can we have some dub versions of these tunes, please? I bloody love this band!

This was the fifth time that I have seen headliners Cowgirl play live and they most certainly get better each time. They are a stunningly accomplished and talented live band who draw on a plethora of great influences to create that unique Cowgirl sound. I can hear slices of the Velvet Underground, Jonathan Richman (in his harder moments), the Strokes, and the MC5. Cowgirl are a magnificent garage band with, and I know this sounds weird, a positive slacker attitude. Their performance on some tracks evokes the finest workouts of Neil Young with Crazy Horse and Lukas Nelson with the Promise Of The Real. They are scuzzy, they are dirty and their often feedback-driven garage rock is something to behold. But it is not just garage rock, it is also distorted and warped electric blues that is a perfect fit for small, dark, sweaty venues like the York Vaults! This was an absolute barnstormer of a set.

All pictures, except the gig poster, were taken by me using my very cheap Chinese Android phone. The videos were found on YouTube. If the video is yours and you would like a credit or for it to be removed please let me know.

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