I was excited about this gig. I've enjoyed The Music's debut album and have been looking forward to tonight for sometime - tickets sold out about 4/5 weeks earlier so I was expecting an electric atmosphere inside this rather strange new venue under Leeds train station.There were a few things that made tonight's gig more interesting than most. The aforementioned venue, which I had never visited before, was by all accounts quite a surprise. It had a Bladesque feeling to it, dark underground and makeshift (I feel I must mention that the promoters left the bar severely understaffed, 9 bar staff for over a thousand people!!). The type of people in attendance was also quite surprising. As expected a lot of students were there, but not expected was a large attendance of Leeds United Fans chanting footy songs. The rest of the crowd tonight compromised of the kind of hangers on and trendy types that seemed hell bent on catching the latest 'it band'.
Something that had caught my imagination over the few days leading up to this gig was wondering what type of support bands The Music would choose to open for them. If any of you reading this review have heard The Music's album then you might agree with me that it is quite difficult to place The Music in a scene or genre - not quite indie and not all rock. From their choice of openers tonight we would see what kind of scene or genre The Music wish to see themselves part of, at least that's my theory.
The first band on were The Bandits. Having not heard them before and not knowing a thing about them I was looking forward to my blind date - sadly my anticipation soon turned into disappointment. Not that The Bandits were a talentless band, sure they could play and I was impressed at the enthusiasm of the delivery, but they sounded like The Coral. They had that Liverpool twangy guitar sound, nice melodic bass lines, and a synth/organ player that complimented the overall sound, but nothing that really gripped me.
Next up was The Rain Band and another disappointment. Once again it wasn't because they weren't any good, but rather just boring. May be my tastes showing through again, but what is a review if not subjective?
The Rain Band seem to have mastered a Manchester sound, darker than Oasis, with hints of New Order, but a performance that left me wishing that the queue for the bar wasn't 15 people deep.
During the last hour the venue's capacity seemed to have reached its limit. I'm not sure of the facts, but it looked like there was well over a thousand people here tonight and the buzz was electric. Every time the lights dimmed or a roadie thumped a drum the crowd stood to their feet and gawped to see if it was Leeds' new pride. Alas, The Music kept us waiting for what seemed a lot longer then the allotted 30 minutes between bands, but their tactics worked. As the first few chords of The Dance rang out through this ancient hall, with it's massive octagonal pillars silhouetted against dramatic lights, everyone was straining to see Robert Harvey. The people went nuts. And from this quite exciting first few minutes I thought if the rest of the gig were like this we'd be in for an amazing night. I was then hurled back into reality. Although I do quite enjoy The Music's debut album, there are quite a few fillers on it and these fillers became even more evident in the live environment. And so it seemed to me that the crowd, including myself, didn't really get that initial feeling back until The Music crept into Get Away, its stirring intro with the lyric "What's it like out there?" - the crowd answered with a roar. By now the air was heavy, about 10 times hotter than Stevie K at a porn convention in the Royal Park Cellars.
The uplifting appeal of some standout tracks really got the crowd jumping. They might not be the most original band out there, but what they do is performed with energy and deftness; the drummer Phil Jordan, in particular, caught my attention a few times, the sheer vigor of his performance was astounding. Robert Harvey's vocal ability is quite incredible too and tonight he was amazing, his vocals becoming one with the music. The Robert Plant comments made by the press seem accurate, if not for their similarity in sound then for the enthusiasm of their delivery. My only criticism being his dependence on what seems the same key, or similar melodies, throughout tonight's set and on the album. A nice touch was Robert Harvey's guitar playing on approximately half of the set, only adding to the already impressive performance from him.
Bassist Stuart Coleman looked nervous at first and never seemed to relax. Maybe the pressure of such a big home crowd played a factor? Guitarist Adam Nutter didn't seem to come out of his shell either, hiding behind his hair most of the night and occasionally looking into the crowd.
By the time The Music rolled out the biggest hits of tonight, unsurprisingly Take The Long Road and Walk It and The People, the hugely atmospheric guitars were drenched in delay and reverb and the long delay on the vocals was apparent on every song. Although this is the way the album is as well, it just seemed too much at the gig and the repetitive nature of their style became wearing towards the close of the night. The infamous muddy sound that has followed The Music from review to review was also apparent tonight (and I did take in to account the venue's huge natural reverb).
The Music are young and have potential to become one hell of a band, but it is still questionable as whether they are Leeds finest or not.
