Reviewed on 20th November 2005.

The Good Die Young

Live at Cockpit Room 3 on Wednesday, 9th November 2005

As is becoming the norm with most reviews nowadays, I saunter in just after the first act Nick McCormick was scheduled to play with my excuses at the ready. However, I enjoy a moment of self satisfaction when informed that Nick McCormick has pulled out and I have missed nothing. No disrespect to Nick but with this being my first review and all, you feel a need to do it right and missing the opening act probably does not fall in to that category. Enough rambling, on to the music.

The opener Jordan Senior immediately evokes images of old American folk with his Bob Dylan-esque harmonica holder and highly strapped guitar. But there is no pigeon-holed sound here; while the roots may lay firmly in 60's USA, there is a real modern touch and an eccentricity to the sound one would normally associate with a group like I Am Kloot. But this was one man and heck, could this guy sing! Strong, controlled vocals gave a polished touch and the guitar fingering and harmonica fills really are music to my ears to state the obvious.

Funnily enough, for all his vocal talent my favourite song of the night was an instrumental piece lasting exactly 60 seconds.

"You can set your watch by it", stated JS and I noted many people doing their best Gareth from The Office impressions and timing him. I think I got him just under 60 seconds (would I be so cruel really?!!) Overall, this was a worthy way to start the evening and I hope to see some more of this guy soon.

Ok, on to the final act The Good Die Young. I had been reading up on these guys all week as they suddenly seemed to be popping in lots of favourite band lists and comments left for them on their band pages all seemed to be quite positive. The band appear to be a full four piece act so I was interested to see how they would adapt to the acoustic surroundings plus I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

My first impression was not great as technical problems delayed the start by a good five minutes and I am such an impatient soul. Still, said problems rectified themselves and we started. The first track started off with I would describe as a 'cheat' on an acoustic night, a crunching guitar riff bursting from a telecaster (see what I mean by cheat!). However, I was not complaining as this was a strong start and in an acoustic environment trying to find a strong start always appears to be something of a challenge so I admire their boldness.

There were only three people on stage at this point, one of whom brandished a tambourine so I could only deduce one band member had been demoted to the bench for the evening. I later learn that it was the drummer and he opted to leave it to the other three as he felt there was no place for drummers in the acoustic cauldron. It almost brought a tear to my eye.

As the lead singer kicked in, his vocals immediately connected with the listener. A similar tone to Joel Cadbury from South and a passion that you would expect from a band starting to receive some hype. The feeling behind his voice was one of sorrow but he should be happy because this was good, very good.

The chorus arrived and with a little shake of the tambourine and some strong vocal harmonies, we had a tune that I could certainly imagine hearing on the radio. The next song continued in the same vain, a slightly funkier number but still crying out for airplay. After this, Mr.Tambourine man took a seat (quite bizarrely still on stage) and we were down to two.

The next two numbers were much truer to the acoustic night and reminded me of a recent Kasabian unplugged session I had seen. It was great to see one guy on an acoustic guitar and another singing for dear life and the audience lapped it up. I noted people were really listening and that is how I tend to split the bad from the good. These certainly fit in to the latter and with time running out before the Cockpit curfew, I was hoping they would not have to cut any songs. Fortunately, this was not the case and the last two songs returned to the original electric sound which I would have to say I preferred.

The closing song was a real gem, a song so full of emotion and with one of the catchiest guitar riffs you will hear in the Leeds music scene this year. I have to say I was not disappointed tonight and these lads justified the interest that has built up around them. I think we will be seeing a lot more of The Good Die Young, as this was some of the best stuff I have heard for a while. A bold statement yes, but one I say with confidence. I just hope the full band is as good!