Beat Route 62
Live at Rocket on Monday, 3rd July 2000
FutureSound 2000 starts up at the Rocket Venue, and its immediately obvious from the amazing talent on show in the three bands battling it out tonight that the judges will be a difficult situation to decide which are the top six, the ones who will go through to the Leeds Carling Weekend Festival. Tonight, we are blessed with three different bands, different styles, and very talented musicians, beginning with Beat Route 62, followed by Circa 72 and the night ending with Mir.
Beat Route 62 opened up with the up-beat, at times fairly mainstream, dance-along, and very easy listening pure rock. Its great. People are dancing around, the band are dressed up in what can only be described as cowboy, country outfits - bandanas, leather waistcoat's, headbands, more leather, stetsons, boots - as I haven't seen this band before, I don't know if this is their usual dress or a FutureSound 2000 get-up but it certainly gets everyone involved, quite a performance and to me the most entertaining of the night.
Circa 72 were described to me beforehand as a Love, Greatful Dead, Neil Young to Oasis type band. What I saw was a band that were not only very musically aware and inspirational to watch, but a band who possess in vocalist Steve, some of the best vocal talent I've seen for a long time. I think the references beforehand suitably describe their style, a wide range of influences on stage, accumulating into a great show.
Mir are a band who I've seen a number of times recently and play a straight-as-a-die alternative affair, from their experimental-mix distorted guitars to the Pavement-esque addition of the vocals. This is one of the best performances I've seen Mir display, pity that the crowd who watched the previous two bands didn't stay to watch them as they missed a real treat, a complete diverse and original affair, and the self-proclaimed "Peel-endorsed" band truly delivered...
On tonights showing its going to be a close-run thing, as I personally cannot decide between each of the bands, each band winning in their own rights, from Mir's originality and diverse music / vocal display, to the amazing vocals of Circa 72, good enough to win any contest in their own rights, to the general up-beat happiness, bouncy crowd-music of openers Beat Route 62, who'd win on pure "enjoyment factor".