The Severed Alliance

Live at New Roscoe on Thursday, 8th January 2009

Rushing around because your brother has a car that would be more use sold for scrap is not exactly the best start to a night out but we eventually got to the New Roscoe and found out that you get a bottle of lager for a pound, result! Granted the lager was Tuborg but hey, times are hard! You could also get pie and peas for a pound which made my best mates night as he helped himself to one at the beginning and one at the end of the night.

We were there to see a band that we had seen at the previous 'Springboard' night at the Roscoe, but there were a couple of other bands on before them. The first band was called The Psycho Strangers which was slightly unnerving but happily they didn't live up to their name as they weren't psycho and were actually quite friendly. They had quite a funky sound and were a good choice to open. They seemed to have a really long set which got a bit samey but it was harmless enough and most of the songs you could dance to so it was a good opening band.

The second band was British Fiction who were a bit heavier and had a female lead vocalist which actually added a lot to their sound. There were plenty of heavy guitar riffs and drumming and it was not necessarily my thing but there plenty of heads going in the Roscoe which was a positive sign for the band.

The Severed Alliance took to the stage and were straight into their set. Their Myspace says they've been through a few line ups to get to this one but you could tell they were comfortable together as they strode onto the stage full of confidence. Singer Michael Mortimer was constantly striding around the stage interacting with the rest of the band and looking every part of the front man. Shaun Hainsworth was also on guitar and vocals and it was his confident playing that often drove the rest of the band. He had a big smile on his face throughout the performance and the whole band looked like they were having a good time.

Guitar riffs are plenty and there's a lot to get you hooked with the constant drumming onslaught coming from Pete Carbert. 'Snorting Britain' was a particular highlight delivered with great energy and confidence but the whole set seemed to be over in a flash and not once did it seem to be dragging. They've got the tunes to go places and sound very relevant to today. There was also a freeness to the band that was a breath of fresh air. The only problem on the night was bassist Tom O'Rourke was wearing exactly the same shirt as one of my mates which meant my fashion conscious mate kept his jacket zipped up all night to avoid embarrassment! Oh and the fact that Michael never got any mint sauce on his pie and peas... Rock 'n' Roll lives on!

• www.myspace.com/theseveredalliance
• www.britishfiction.co.uk
• www.myspace.com/thepsychostrangers

Comments

All replies to this article. Log in to post a reply.