I try to never pass up the chance to see a band or artist that I have never seen before, so this was an easy choice. There were four bands on the bill, none of which I had seen before. This was another gig put together by the delightful human known as Simon P for Northern Radar. I have been going to Northern Radar gigs for many years now and Mr. P has never let me down with the bands and singers he puts on. Did that change with this gig? Read on to find out!
The first to take the stage was the Expression, vocally they made me think of Lene Lovich and Siouxse Sioux to name just two. The band were as tight as hell with a dark post punk feel to their sound. Their original songs were good and show a potential for greatness with perhaps a little more work. The cover of the Stone Roses “I Wanna Be Adored” was superb, but the Mazzy Star cover was an absolutely sublime highlight. They closed their set and nailed their grunge credentials to the wall with an immense cover of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box”. This was a great set to kick the night off.
Next up it was the Fruity Pebbles, a band largely born from the remnants of some Huntington School 6th Form bands from recent years. A truly eclectic range of covers which ranged from Abba to Chappell Roan via Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse and others. Their original tune “Smooth” is a neat, summery, jazzy pop song which is likely to get better and better the more they play it. They showed their chops as a great band, once again very tight. But it was the brass section that showed themselves to be tighter than the proverbial duck’s arse. Front man Oscar, who wasn’t meant to be fronting this set, is a true trouper and a born performer. If he is not working in music or entertainment in the future then frankly the world is fucked! The Fruity Pebbles know how to party and they party hard!
Strip were next and they are full of effervescent pop punk energy. While their originals were good their covers were truly stunning, especially the bombastic opener, a fiery run through of Green Day’s “American Idiot”. Who knew that song would still be so relevant now, some twenty years later. Strip delivered perhaps the best mosh fest of the night. This lot are fucking good indeed!
Finally it was the turn of Catch! to hit the stage. They are a York Uni band that are talented purveyors of melodic pop rock with an undercurrent of prog in some songs. They have an additional vein of classic 90s bands like Republica and Elastica running through a number of their songs too. Overall they have a wealth of close to awesome songs in their cannon. Sadly by the time Catch! arrived on stage the crowd had shrunk a little. Why do so many people up and leave after “their” band has played? But who cares, Catch! truly captivated everyone who chose to stay. The vocals were perfect as was the more than tidy rhythm section. A special mention to the lead guitarist who never dropped below stunning with his magnificent arsenal of riffs and solos. Party driven fun made the moshing last a long while and the A Simple Plan cover was anthemic and delightful. Apologies in advance for the bad Dad joke/ pun, but you really need to catch Catch! soon! Click here to check out their latest EP on Spotify.
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