Night of the Sidewinder - Silhouette Club 24th January 04 By Lee Cassanell

Well folks, it's been a weekend of cigarettes and psychotropic substances, a couple of days of good clean English decadence that would have made John Leslie blush and Britney Spears join a convent. So before I drown myself in green tea and collapse on the sofa sucking my thumb, I'll tell you about a gig I saw last night, a majestic performance of live rock and roll that stirred the soul and moistened the masses. Sidewinder have the moves and the tunes to become the darlings of the Hull Music scene which is exploding with milky white talent at this present moment in time.

I first saw them at the Adelphi club late last year playing to an audience that consisted of myself, four or five of their friends, two rather attractive bisexuals and a one legged blind man who thought he was in Jackson's. They'd only agreed to play as a favour to the owner because the band he'd booked had tragically died the night before in a bizarre space hopper incident...and even though the audience was drunk and sparse...they set about their business in a professional, workmanlike fashion.

It must be hard to get yourself motivated for a show when the crowd is as thin as a Karen Carpenter sandwich, but they managed to perform a great set of original material and covers and I for one was impressed by their insolence and attitude.

Saturday night however was another kettle of fish altogether. Good crowd, great venue, and the kind of cool crackling atmosphere that only high quality live music can provide. What immediately struck me (apart from the two attractive ladies who started bowing directly in front of the band as soon as they'd kicked off) was the catchiness of their songs.

As I said, I'd only ever heard the band play once before but I found myself singing along to the words, which as far as I'm concerned is proof enough that they have the tunes in their repertoire to make an impression on the wider record buying public. I'd describe their music as the Coral meets The Bluetones via the Who...but in truth no description or comparison would do them justice...they have their own unique sound which shifts from rolling rock to harmonic pop depending on the mood and involvement of the audience.

But never mind all that, the most impressive thing about the evening for me was that they got the people dancing. It started off with two drunks doing the tango across the deserted dance floor, and ended with the entire crowd strutting their funky stuff into the wee small hours of the morning. It was a good night, hell, it was a great night... and the next time Sidewinder pull their finger out of their arses and grace us with another gig...I'll be there with bells on.

I do however have one or two complaints...just a couple of things that Sidewinder and nearly every other band playing in this city at the moment have failed to grasp.

You can be the best bloody band in the world, your lead guitarist may play like Hendrix, your bass like Jack Bruce, you might have Keith Moon on the drums, and Robert Plant on vocals, but you are not going to get anywhere in this business without good and extensive promotion. I walk around Spring Bank and Princes Avenue and see these tiny A4 posters stuck to lampposts advertising a gig and I'm astounded by the lack of effort that's gone into it.

How do they expect a hundred plus crowd when they've hired Stevie Wonder to do their advertising? I've listened to bands complain about "How bad the Hull Music scene is"..." No-ones Interested in going to see live Music"..." I'm going to Manchester to form a folk punk band called the 'Orgy in the Crypt"...bla...bla...bla. continued below..

Night of the Sidewinder - Silhouette Club 24th January 04 By Lee Cassanell

This area is crawling with artists, writers, poets and musicians...okay so most of them spend their days sitting on their spotty behinds eating hash cookies and smoking rolls...but all it needs is someone or something to press the big red button and make the Hull art scene go Nuclear. Do I think Sidewinder are the band to do it? No! Personally I don't think they've got the chops, it's the kind of task that would take effort and organisation. Not only that, but it would mean putting your faith and trust in people outside of the band, and there's this overwhelming fear in Hull of asking people for help and assistance just in case they interpret it as a sign of weakness.

I want to see Sidewinder play to a massive crowd, I think they'd rise to the big occasion, but until they open their eyes to the possibilities I don't the think they will ever fully realise their obvious potential. And another thing before I go....if you're a local band trying to entice people to come and see you again...I think it's always a good idea to play a cover or two, something the audience recognises and can sing along with.

I appreciate the fact that you want to show the flock how good your original material is...but it's misplaced arrogance I think.

Dredge your back-catalogues and come up with some new takes on some old classics...do them as an encore...as a tribute...to the music that made you want to pick up an instrument in the first place. Anyway that will do...I'm fresh out of Cigarettes and 'Con Air's' on the TV in 5 mins. Until next time my friends...take it easy

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	I went to see Hull's favourite Madness cover band - Badness- at the Piper club on Newland Ave. They were supported by All Mod Cons, who are a tribute to The Jam. It was a fantastic night.. I'm old enough to remember Madness quite well, I confess..although at the time I wasn't particularly into them, they were definitely a band for the lads. Read more...

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Music Reviews - DJ DEFUNKT AND BEATMASTER WRIGHT at the Adelphi by Carolyn
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