With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

Everything After Midnight – Micklegate Social, York – Friday 5th May 2023 May 8, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 9:51 pm
Tags: , , , , ,

This was the first time I had been to a gig at the Micklegate Social in York since before Covid and it is still a wonderfully intimate basement venue. It is almost perfect for smaller shows, but I really hope they can sort out the toilet issue, two toilets for the whole venue upstairs and down really isn’t good enough. Anyway, that is enough of a toilet rant, let me get on with telling you about the gig! First up was Rowan, who has been featured on these pages before. This talented troubadour weaves some great tales in his 21st Century folk-style songs. “Skeldergate” is epic, contemporary, and topical (in a York sense for the latter). While many of Rowan’s tunes have somewhat dark themes, “Once A Rock Star” proves that he can write stuff that is a bit lighter, although even here there are some dark elements, but this was a great song with a hint of Jonathan Richman behind it. Tom Gulliver was next and he has a great collection of songs. “Place Of Peace” was damned good indeed. At times Tom’s vocal phrasings reminded me of Elton John, Mark Everett a.k.a Mr. E, and even Marc Almond. Everyone one of those inflections fitted perfectly with his well-played maniacal acoustic guitar playing. My highlight from his short set was probably “Cemetry Song” which I thought was sublime.

Next on stage, was Marnie Glum who says in her socials that she writes “sad songs for sad saps”, which I think is a little self-deprecating. She does write some sad songs, but for me, they work for everyone on many emotional levels, not just for sad saps. Marnie’s voice has the quality of a 21st-century Joni Mitchell in her phrasing and a hint of jazz in her styling, particularly on the new songs. She tells kitchen sink dramas and heartfelt soap opera tales with her infectious tunes. She is a Clifford T Ward for our troubled times. “Polaroid Ghosts” is gorgeous, heartfelt, and soul-baring. If you love great music then you need Marnie Glum in your life!

Finally, it was the turn of headliners Everything After Midnight to take centre stage. Their opening song showed the depth of musical quality they now have as a band. It was largely acoustic and fucking beautiful as it built to a fabulous 1970s rock-styled crescendo. The wah-wah style guitar licks were ace. The way Everything After Midnight have grown in confidence, skill, and stature since I first saw them a mere 15 months ago is incredible. Tonight is the fifth time I have seen them live. They possess a great maturity of thought and attitude that belies their age and adds to the compelling complexity of their rather wonderful tunes. I really loved “Sale Sign” with its mostly spoken word vocal, an awesome track. The band was joined on stage by two of the support acts for “Still Sleeping”, Marnie Glum and Tom Gulliver. The latter of whom produced the first Everything After Midnight EP. The final song of the evening was a cover of Razorlight’s 2006 UK number one “America”. It was a chilled take of Razorlight’s greatest tune. Some might say the only decent tune Razorlight ever did! But enough of Johnny Borrell’s boys, Everything After Midnight played a perfect set for such an intimate venue, another mark of a great band.

If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

EMail

Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

The Corsairs – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 10th March 2023 March 21, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:33 pm
Tags: , , , , , , ,

This was another gig put together by that wonderful human being Simon Pattinson for Northern Radar at the equally fabulous Fulford Arms. It was all for a great cause too and raised loads of dosh for St. Leonard’s Hospice. It was headlined by the Corsairs, but more of them later. Proceedings were opened by Everything After Midnight, this would be the second time that I have seen them this year. There is a portion of Wolf Alice and a dash of Pale Waves here. There is also a sprinkling of electric folk (think Traffic with a female singer), soft metal (maybe Evanescence), a pinch of British Prog, and obviously a huge amount of Everything After Midnight. Steph’s voice was always good and now she takes it towards greatness. I have previously suggested that Steph has vocals that remind me of Tori Amos and Ellie Roswell, and that remains true. This was a four-band gig and the second to take the stage was Lost Trends, who are clearly no longer lost and I am glad they have been found again. They have not tiptoed their way back, they came with a multi-megaton blast of sound. A long layoff for the Lost Trends boys, mostly driven by Covid, has not dimmed their power and passion one iota. They still have their usual “we can be better than New Order” sound, but now it is overlayed with some magnificent layers of Talking Heads-style NYC electro-funk. The north has produced some great guitarists, notably Mick Ronson and Bill Nelson, I think that we can safely add Pete Knaggs to that gang now!

Third, it was the turn of yet another fine York band, the Rosettas. Frontman Benji had a cold, but he didn’t let that get in the way of a pulsating set from a band that not only knows how to rock but also knows how to party hard. They are clearly all enjoying themselves and that infectious joy is shared by the crowd with some great dancing and singalong opportunities. “I Don’t Like This” is a great song for bringing the crowd together. Their choice of Blur’s “Song 2” as a cover was inspired and went down an absolute storm. A great band and most certainly one to watch for the future. The Corsairs may be a very young band, but this does not get in the way of their stunning ability to produce an absolute belter of a set. They may have started off a little understated but they really grew into this set and eventually knocked it out of the park. Current single “Jackie The Know It All” is a classy slab of prime Arctic Monkeys styling. There are some Kooks and Wombats influences in their songs too. These lads seemed to love their time on stage and undoubtedly converted many people that had not seen them before into fans. I hope that the Corsairs are around for a long while and I hope their first album, when they get to it lives up to the promise of their live set. I 100% believe that it will! As a footnote, I want to mention that someone actually left this gig early because it wasn’t “indie” enough for them. Seriously? What the actual fuck is indie anyway? Click here to take a look at Indie Chart number ones from the 80s. The usual suspects like the Smiths are included, but so is Jason Donovan. I can really feel a What The Fuck Is Indie Anyway article coming soon!

All the pictures, except the gig poster, were taken by Martin Swarbrick

If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

EMail

Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

The Rills – Fulford Arms, York – Friday 3rd February 2023 February 8, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 6:13 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

This has been a slow year for me gigwise so far, this is my first gig for 2023. This was another nifty little show promoted by Simon P of Northern Radar. I have lost count of the amount of Northern Radar shows that I have attended, but one theme runs through them all, Simon has never let me down with his choice of bands and artists. At least not yet anyway. Was tonight the first time I had seen a bad show from Northern Radar? Read on to find out! First up at the fabulous Fulford Arms was Everything After Midnight, I first saw them almost exactly a year ago at the York Vaults supporting Where’s Slater. What are they like? Well, there is prog, electric folk, metal, a pinch of Wolf Alice, and many other facets in their sound. Steph’s voice gets stronger every time I see them (this is the third time) and tonight I detected elements of Sandy Denny, Kiki Dee, and Ellie Rowsell. In a previous review of Everything After Midnight I said “Imagine Tori Amos if she took a much heavier direction with some added prog undertones, that is how Everything After Midnight sounded to me“, I stand by that comment!

Next up was Sun King a band that I have seen once before, back in June last year when they supported Sweet May at this very venue and that was their first gig. I can hear a whole range of influences in their fabulous sound; Small Faces, Paul Rodgers, Steve Marriot, Led Zeppelin, Paul Weller, maybe Prince on the falsetto lines, and at times a bit of that old Noddy Holder warble in the vocal. The band is tight and has a pitch-perfect grasp of the best classic rock vibes. But they go beyond just rock as they throw in some great jazz and funk licks for good measure. Seb, the lead vocalist was formerly with Naked Six and is related to British Metal royalty, he is Saxon frontman Biff Byford’s son. Biff was present humping gear for the band and later while chatting with Chris T of the Fulford Arms we thought, wouldn’t it be amazing to have Biff play a set at the Fully, maybe acoustic with Saxon, solo, or even the full band, perhaps even a residency! Biff if you’re up for that then get in touch, perhaps we can book Sun King as support!

The first time I saw Lincoln’s finest current band, the Rills was when they played the BBC Introducing Stage at the Leeds Festival back in 2021. Their stature has grown at a rapid rate and this was an incendiary set from a magnificent band. “World Leader” was immense and hugely powerful. This was the fifth show in their intense mini tour for Independent Venue Week 2023. They started in Falmouth on 30th January and worked their way to York via Swansea, Bedford and Oxford. The sixth and final show of that hectic schedule was in Blackpool the day after York. They have huge energy and that was transferred to the supremely enthusiastic crowd. The riffs were full-on and spectacular. The Rills put on a stunningly good show. So has Simon of Northern Radar let me down yet? Definitely not!

If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

EMail

Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

Where’s Slater – Victoria Vaults, York – Friday 4th February 2022 February 7, 2022

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 11:21 pm
Tags: , , , , , ,

This was my second Independent Venue Week gig for 2022, this time at the Victoria Vaults in York which had a fantastic overhaul during various Covid lockdowns. This night was put together by Trailer Park Promotions and it was great to meet the Head Honcho himself, Sam. The boy done good! Four bands in one night, does it get better than that? Maybe but not often! The opening act tonight was Pennine Suite who I saw for the first time in their current incarnation around two weeks ago. It is clear that the band in this expanded form has a much greater depth of sound and they use it incredibly well to showcase their canon of banging tunes. Lead singer Nick continues to build and develop his array of frontman skills. He owns it and totally understands his crowd. The band is on top form Louise’s keyboards add a sublime melodic wave to the sound. Harry proves himself to be an excellent guitarist, having switched from the bass. Meanwhile, Moses, who has only been playing the bass guitar for six months smashes a great groove. But there is clearly no stopping the band’s own nuclear reactor Louis on drums, he was insanely good. If I had to pick a highlight, and there were many, it would have to be “Impatience”, a real barnstormer!

Next up it was the turn of Silvertones who I have seen just once before, back in January 2019 when they supported the Receivers (who became Pennine Suite fact fans!) at the Fulford Arms in York. Silvertones are a power trio that puts the emphasis on power. There were moments when the guitar sounded like none other than Johnny Fucking Marr. The bass player’s vocals were reminiscent of Liam Gallagher back in the days when he was good. There was also that idiosyncratic nasal whine a la John Lydon. Their slower tunes suggested perhaps Cast or even Hard-Fi. Essentially this was an uplifting riff-laden set from a band who know their stuff.

A band that is new to me, Everything After Midnight, were next. This York five-piece was truly epic in sound and performance. Imagine Tori Amos if she took a much heavier direction with some added prog undertones, that is how Everything After Midnight sounded to me. The title track of their current EP “Still Sleeping” was majestic and at times was like a slowed-down Nightwish. Was that three guitars and no bass that I spotted? If it was then there was no negative impact on the sound. The chanty backing vocals were a perfect foil to the singer’s gorgeous, ethereal, enthralling voice. The band were tight and well-rehearsed, the drummer was a very classy player.

I first saw headliners Where’s Slater when they supported Tommyrot at this same venue back in August 2021. For that gig, they were missing two band members but still put on a great show. There is a huge 70s influence here, but they are also very much their own original band. This is a polished rock sound, made by a highly talented band. While there is a darkness to some of their songs Where’s Slater are a bunch of people that seem like they are having a hell of a lot of fun on stage. If you took the Ray Manzarek’s keys away from the Doors and added extra heavy guitar riffs then you might get closer to that Where’s Slater beautiful noise. Their cover of “Hey Joe”, a song which many people have claimed to write and which became a huge sixties hit for Jimi Hendrix, was masterfulIt wasn’t just a cover version, these boys took it and made it their own. Where’s Slater look more like a group of final year nerdy Uni students than rock gods, but when they perform they also transform into their rock n roll personas. This is a band with a bright future. Incidentally fact fans, did you know that a “slater” is also the german term for “feeling of two moments of time not colliding, staying far, far apart” (according to the band bio on Spotify anyway)

If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

EMail

Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

 
%d bloggers like this: