Sweet n Sour at the Welly Club 29/07/2004 Har Mar Superstar Salako The Paddingtons By Andy Dykes

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I arrive early (ish) at The Welly tonight, but still have to queue quite far back. By the time I reach the door, the line behind me is about to snake round the side of the club. I've got a feeling tonight is going to be busy. But then why wouldn't it be? Aside from the raw talent of the support acts, tonight The Welly is playing host to one of the most original and unusual artists of recent times. The crowd is a mixture of rock fans and disco kids, all hotly anticipating tonight's main act, Har Mar Superstar. His new millennium twist on 80s-electro-funk-synth-pop has been causing stirs among real music lovers for a while now. It's only a matter of time before he makes it really big and breaks full on into the mainstream.

First up tonight though are The Paddingtons. They swagger onstage just as the track Three is the Magic Number draws to a close. Being a 5-piece, I worry that The Paddingtons might find this a little disconcerting for some reason. But they don't seem to. As one of Hull's few signed bands, a lot rests on the shoulders of The Paddingtons, if only to draw attention to the town's blossoming music scene. They rise to the challenge well, sounding like The Strokes getting a kick up the arse from The Libertines while being intravenously injected with The Clash. I know, I know. It seems that no one can write about The Paddingtons without reference to The Libertines. But I guess it's not a bad thing.

The Paddingtons work the crowd well, although I can't hear what's being said most of the time, which is weird. I always thought the sound system at The Welly was pretty awesome. Then I realise, this kid's too cool not to mumble. Almost predictably, the set ends with a stage invasion and The Paddingtons slope off as the chaos dies down. Nice action. I'm almost surprised to see Salako arrive onstage. One minute they aren't there and the next minute they are. They open their set with some rumbling bass and some funky drums. I like it. And then the guitar kicks in. It's a little too loud and takes away from the atmospheric tension that the rhythm section was doing so well to create.

After the energy of The Paddingtons, the static stage presence of Salako is pretty underwhelming. At its best it's organised chaos, but visually at least, it's uninspiring. However, I can hear everything that the singer says. I guess this dude's just not cool enough to mumble.

The music's not bad though: catchy riffs and funky beats. It may well translate better on CD than it does in tonight's live setting. Somewhere in The Welly, a guy who calls himself Monkeyboy says Salako are good. Tonight they're good, but they're not great. As Har Mar time draws ever nearer, the packed Welly crowd swells and condenses. It looks like a full house tonight. And then he walks out through the smoke and the darkness, onto the well lit stage, to rapturous screams and applause. He looks like the love child of Ron Jeremy and Mo Mowlam, but even without model good looks, he has the crowd in the palm of his hand from start to finish.

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