The Scaramanga Six
Live at Courthouse (Otley) on Saturday, 12th February 2005
So, after a mere five months of waiting, I finally get to review a gig in my home town. Endless Grey Windows must have arguably the worst name of any band I've seen in a fair while but they're a passable start to the evening with their distorted indie rock recalling Ride at times. The only problem is that the lack of a bass player counts against them with the decidedly high-pitched sound of the guitars coming across as a bit messy at times.
More enjoyable are Stuffy and The Fuses who peddle a joyfully warped brand of guitar pop with the keyboardist and singer/drummer thrashing their instruments with reckless abandon. Their set also features a song written as the follow-up to Cat Stevens' "Father And Son" where the father gets shot and aforementioned singer/drummer Stuffy going for a walkabout round the audience during the intro to a song. All good stuff.
The none-more-dapper The Scaramanga Six are on good form as well tonight despite a dodgy PA which leaves the vocals all but inaudible during the opening few songs. However, when they hit their stride, there's very few bands in Leeds who can touch their frenetic brand of electro-punk for energy as evidenced on the closing duo of "Elemental" and "Pincers". A suitably climactic end to a good evening.
