Galitza
Live at Joseph's Well on Friday, 13th September 2002
It was always going to be a little bit special. Buzz. Anticipation. Electric atmosphere. One song. Could have been twenty. Fanbleedintastic. The Landspeed Loungers reunion closes this Wrath special in spectacular style, the audience dances and Dave Cooke looks as excited as a small child in a candy store. Sweetpea, "Rah".
Headlining the show were Galitza, a band that grace the stage and captivate those watching. You must be the Devil is dedicated to love past, and features delectable vocals from Steve Adams and Emma Bob 3. A highlight moment of the entire evening let alone their set. "You must be the devil, there's no escape, you must be my greatest mistake". Galitza shell out a delicious blend of Loungers-inspired beauty - amazing melodies and harmony - and the unique crash bang wallop of a difference that comes from Emma Chest's inclusion at the fore.
On a night of reminiscence, I end up wanting to go and see Chest.
Dave Cooke begins the Being 747 set solo before the full three-piece open up with the crashing Make things happen. There's always a feeling of bumbling gawkiness with Being 747: instruments don't always work, mistakes flit in and out and between-song chat is shy schoolboy-like. It's so incredibly endearing. The music is upbeat, old-skool indie, some might say dated but it remains amazingly fresh and timely. People dance like fools. Mind of a 12-year-old child closes the set. Wow!
In the twelve months that has seen sammyUSA shy away from the live scene, preferring to write and record songs in preparation of stages grander, they have lost their lo-fi Pavement style in favour of mixing rocking, in-yer-face indie kicks with beautiful ballad-like vocal solos. Both sammyUSA frontmen were again spot-on vocally - how many times do you come away from an evening's entertainment knowing you've seen eight or nine amazingly talented singers? Stage show is perfect, presence and demeanour fixating. New#2 and Liar close up the sammyUSA set, and even without the bands that followed, well worth the entrance fee.
Early openers were The Bilderberg Group, a band who have never had that hard a time impressing people. A minimalist look, backed with full on memorable, acoustic-indie tunes, comes complete with excellent harmonies again! Unfortunately I arrive too late to appreciate the set in full (and miss the use of harmonica).