Catylyst
Live at Joseph's Well on Monday, 13th August 2001
So this is it then, the final one of these gigs for a while, ending what has been a great season of gigs at the Well for the Blue Star chaps. Tonight appears to be quite an interesting bill from the outside, two noisy rawk bands and the more melodic Stealthman opening up.
STEALTHMAN are very young but play with an unquestionable maturity beyond their years. Great vocals, great musicianship, and a great set of songs. Most of the stuff is original guitar/keyboard led pop rock but they do drop in a couple of covers to keep the neutrals happy. "Tainted Love" is excellent and wakes the crowd up nicely, but the REM track they play sounds way too much like the original and doesn't really do much for me. Having said that, REM don't really do that much for me either. This is a very polished performance from a band I've heard a lot about recently, and Stealthman prove that they are worthy of a slot on this bill, loads of potential and some ace tunes should see them moving up the local pecking order in the months to come.
CATYLYST grace us with their presence next. With the addition of Jaymee on bass they look the part now as well as sounding like it. Frontman Chris looks like a glam-rock spaceman in his silvery jacket and S&M trouser wear, while his guitar cohort Dave reminds me of Vyvian from The Young Ones, with his spiky orange hair, and Wally and Jaymee attempt to break the world sweating record. I know I should be talking about the music, but image is equally important to Catylyst, so it's worthy of a mention. The music itself is wicked, fierce and heavy as fuck. Playing a slightly longer than usual set tonight, Catylyst open with "Tumblechuff", that is still lodged in my head two days later, then belt through old faves like "Today" and "Sell Out" as well as the new one which I think is called "Monster", and is bloody marvellous. The boys are having a while off now to update the set they've been hammering out for the last few months. I'm certainly looking forward to their return, as over the last year they have been one of the most consistently good bands Leeds has at the moment. Come back soon.