Skint & Demoralised
Live at Escobar (Wakefield) on Monday, 3rd December 2007
We met a very dapper looking Matt Abbott (lead singer and songwriter of Skint & Demoralised) dressed in a fashionable grey suit before the gig as he was greeting people by the door and giving away demo CD's. He seemed a little nervous, not about their performance but about the turnout; it seems his greatest fear is playing to an empty room. Something he needn't have worried about because despite this being only their third gig the Escobar was packed full of people coming to see them (including representatives from a record company) - it seems they've built up quite a following in a very short time.
When Skint & Demoralised took to the stage at nearly 11pm, there was no sign of the nervousness Matt had shown earlier. Backed by a band of experienced musicians they had no trouble recreating live what they've already laid down in the studio. They opened up with "The Charismatic Mr McGann", a story of a modern day Casanova, and went on to play a total of 8 songs including "Red Lipstick'" which has been getting a lot of radio airplay, and "The Thrill Of 30 Seconds" which he was going to dedicate to a friend whose birthday it was - but instead dedicated it to the friend's mother which got a big cheer from the crowd. They finished with what Matt described as two new songs ("Love Is Dead" and the very impressive "Three More Days") though from a fledgling band none of the songs could be considered to be anything other than new.
As a frontman Matt was both engaging and witty, no doubt drawing on his experience as a performance poet. Despite being a new band they've already got a good catalogue of songs and sound really tight as a band. Judging by the turn-out and reaction of the crowd (and all the positive response they've been getting from press and radio) this is only the start of exciting times for Skint & Demoralised.
