The Strypes - live @ Limelight, Belfast, 18/09/2013
To paraphrase the bandit king B.P.Fallon, every once in a while rock'n'roll throws up something special and tonight Belfast's revamped and packed out Limelight witnessed just that. It is not often you can take what a music publicist says at face value but The Strypes proved the point and exceeded expectations.
Arriving at this re-scheduled gig, there was some misunderstanding over the start time and it appeared as if I wasn't the only one unsure of timings, as there wasn't that many people around. But I did note the odd make up of the assembled gig-goers - the full gamut from ageing rockers, mods and punks right through to teenage hipsters. Once in the venue and having scoped out the merchandise stall, the crowd slowly started to build. First up were five-piece The Hot Sprockets - hard to pigeon-hole this band as they wore all their influences on their sleeves - a mix of psychedelic garage pop with a side order of funky soul. During their opening number all four front men performed a sychronised sideways knee-jerk during the chorus. This was equally amusing and disturbing - what the funk am I watching here? Although the songs were toe-tapping in their own right, if somewhat overly lengthy, it was the closing number that received the best reception from the still expanding audience. 'Soul Brother' had a poppy soul groove and an incredibly catchy chorus that was heard post set being sung by revellers escaping for a pre-headliner cigarette.
As the house lights dimmed, the diminutive figure of Fallon took centrestage and introduced the main act. The four teenagers came on stage and immediately launched into their debut album opener 'Mystery Man'. I already had bought the LP Snapshot on the day of release and knew what a fast paced brand of Rhythm'n'Blues the band portrayed, but live the energy levels were notched up a mark. Fast and furious, these boys really could play. With very little between song banter they delivered one blistering, beat barrage track after another. The skill and dexterity of both bassist and guitarist were there for all to see - intricate bass runs interspersed with Lemmy-esque chords played a la Entwhistle complemented the riff-laden chops from the Jeff Beck influenced guitar. The singer, hidden behind sunglasses, sang and growled with a voice beyond his years complementing the songs with a vicious blues harp plus the drummer maintaining the fast and steady beat non-stop, never missing a beat. The speed and ferocity this band laid out was making me exhausted just watching and you couldn't help but get caught up with their youthful verve.
The set was made up of their album tracks, including the singles 'Blue Collar Jane', Hometown Girls' and the newest release 'What A Shame', with some b-side tracks and a plethora of cover versions. The highlight of the cover tracks was a frantic 'Down The Road Apiece'. We were informed that on the way here from Amsterdam via Birmingham the airline Fly-Be had managed to lose their guitars, so they gave a shout out to Matchetts Music for providing replacements and when talking about playing Belfast again, got a cheer for name-checking Geordie Best. Towards the end off the set and for the last two numbers of the night, the guitarist swopped for the bass guitar, the singer took up the vacated guitar spot and the bassist took to playing some frenzied harp - just emphasising how talented these young kids are.
The band had barely stopped for breath all night - towelling down was carried out mid-song without missing a beat - one song practically ran straight into the next one without waiting for the applause - and as soon as they went off stage, they were back on straight away for the encore.
It has been argued that they are not doing anything 'new', but any band that make Dr. Feelgood sound dated and engender such cross-genre appeal can't be doing too much wrong. It is still early days, but they are already getting plaudits in all the right places and after seeing them live, I can only concur. I can't remember the last gig I came out off feeling quite so exhilarated and I wasn't the only one - everyone I spoke to felt the same.
Mully
Arriving at this re-scheduled gig, there was some misunderstanding over the start time and it appeared as if I wasn't the only one unsure of timings, as there wasn't that many people around. But I did note the odd make up of the assembled gig-goers - the full gamut from ageing rockers, mods and punks right through to teenage hipsters. Once in the venue and having scoped out the merchandise stall, the crowd slowly started to build. First up were five-piece The Hot Sprockets - hard to pigeon-hole this band as they wore all their influences on their sleeves - a mix of psychedelic garage pop with a side order of funky soul. During their opening number all four front men performed a sychronised sideways knee-jerk during the chorus. This was equally amusing and disturbing - what the funk am I watching here? Although the songs were toe-tapping in their own right, if somewhat overly lengthy, it was the closing number that received the best reception from the still expanding audience. 'Soul Brother' had a poppy soul groove and an incredibly catchy chorus that was heard post set being sung by revellers escaping for a pre-headliner cigarette.
As the house lights dimmed, the diminutive figure of Fallon took centrestage and introduced the main act. The four teenagers came on stage and immediately launched into their debut album opener 'Mystery Man'. I already had bought the LP Snapshot on the day of release and knew what a fast paced brand of Rhythm'n'Blues the band portrayed, but live the energy levels were notched up a mark. Fast and furious, these boys really could play. With very little between song banter they delivered one blistering, beat barrage track after another. The skill and dexterity of both bassist and guitarist were there for all to see - intricate bass runs interspersed with Lemmy-esque chords played a la Entwhistle complemented the riff-laden chops from the Jeff Beck influenced guitar. The singer, hidden behind sunglasses, sang and growled with a voice beyond his years complementing the songs with a vicious blues harp plus the drummer maintaining the fast and steady beat non-stop, never missing a beat. The speed and ferocity this band laid out was making me exhausted just watching and you couldn't help but get caught up with their youthful verve.
The set was made up of their album tracks, including the singles 'Blue Collar Jane', Hometown Girls' and the newest release 'What A Shame', with some b-side tracks and a plethora of cover versions. The highlight of the cover tracks was a frantic 'Down The Road Apiece'. We were informed that on the way here from Amsterdam via Birmingham the airline Fly-Be had managed to lose their guitars, so they gave a shout out to Matchetts Music for providing replacements and when talking about playing Belfast again, got a cheer for name-checking Geordie Best. Towards the end off the set and for the last two numbers of the night, the guitarist swopped for the bass guitar, the singer took up the vacated guitar spot and the bassist took to playing some frenzied harp - just emphasising how talented these young kids are.
The band had barely stopped for breath all night - towelling down was carried out mid-song without missing a beat - one song practically ran straight into the next one without waiting for the applause - and as soon as they went off stage, they were back on straight away for the encore.
It has been argued that they are not doing anything 'new', but any band that make Dr. Feelgood sound dated and engender such cross-genre appeal can't be doing too much wrong. It is still early days, but they are already getting plaudits in all the right places and after seeing them live, I can only concur. I can't remember the last gig I came out off feeling quite so exhilarated and I wasn't the only one - everyone I spoke to felt the same.
Mully