14th August 05 - Frank's Right Hand Trouser, Shindigg, Sal Paradise and The Vultures at the Adelphi By Anthony Baine.

Next Page

So, another week, another gig. This time it's the Paul Jackson's gaff for some of Hull's top local fare. Sundays are usually quite hit and miss in the summer months while there are no students about and this on this occasion I took a seat in a half-full Adelphi just in time to witness four bands strut their stuff. First up were The Vultures.

Hull's music scene at the moment consists mainly of gig-goers who are in thrall to The Strokes, Razorlight and the now defunct band from London who were led by a talentless crackhead media darling whose very name makes me want to spit. The Vultures have wisely capitalised on this market. It's a good idea. It guarantees crowds and guarantees gigs but sadly it doesn't always guarantee excitement for the more discerning music fan. Their half-hour set consisted of jaunty, three minute indie-pop songs which were greeted with plenty of applause.

The lead guitarist is the talent in the band (not to take away from any of the others) but he seemed too low in the mix tonight. I have seen them before when he was higher and they seemed to have more of a punch. It's perfectly good music and they are sure to win fans as they get better but it's not my bottle of beer I'm afraid. After The Vultures, something rather less wholesome stirred. Sal Paradise are the Hull scene's enigma. I've seen them maybe half a dozen times now and they are truly unique. Nobody seems to know their names, they never seem to get any publicity yet over the past year they have become an astonishingly aggressive live unit.

Their typically intense set of white-hot anti-anthems was delivered with almost no movement on stage (expect from the drummer) and it's amazing how much energy they put across whilst remaining static. The roar and ferocity of the first track alone is worth the entrance fee. The singer's snarl and yelp vocal puts him somewhere between Johnny Rotten and Christina Aguilera and I'm pretty sure that's never been done before, whilst the lyrics I caught are most definitely without precedent. (Did I really hear the line Maybe I was a paedophile in a previous life!)

The distorted ballad in the middle of the set was the high point and on this song alone the guitarist can stake his claim to be one of the most original in town. The problem with Sal Paradise is though; they may be just a bit too volatile. They have little regard for audience reactions (which wasn't bad, although at every one of their gigs I've seen the crowd always appear more stunned than pleasured) and they won't appeal to the same market as The Vultures do.

In my opinion this is a good thing, but sadly that's the only market here at the moment. I really would love people to prove me wrong because as far as I'm concerned they are one of Hull's top 5 bands and they really do deserve to be heard. Next up were Shindigg. I've seen Shindigg loads of times and they really are very good.

Continued Next Page

Music Reviews - The Leeds Festival Diary - 25th to 28th August 05 By Andy Knudsen Photos by Em Alexander, Steve Clappison at (www.tallorders.org) and Sam Saunders
	In the same inexplicable way that you sometimes wake up a second or two before the alarm goes off, I wake up just before the door to the room I'm sleeping in opens. Dave bends his blonde head round the door. "Helloo" he sings and advances into the room wearing a face like the Cheshire Cat. I muster some kind of greeting and check my watch for the time. Read more...

Music Reviews - Night Clubs - 26th August 05 - Eat Your Words at The Welly By Diane
	What a night to remember! If you enjoy continuous dance music then get yourself down to Eat Your Words at the Welly Club on Beverley Road and dance the night away like I did. Very friendly staff as I entered the building. Somewhere to drop your bag and coat and helpful staff at the bar if you're like me and can never decide what you want to drink! A kind lass behind the bar offered Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday 13th August 05 - Arctic Monkeys at The Silhouette by Nick Quantrill Photo Gallery by Darren Rogers
	Supported by The Applewhites, Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys rolled into Hull as the current NME-approved future of music, and for once they might just be correct. Despite having released just one single, the band has already toured extensively to build a formidable word of mouth fan-base, and they look equipped to explode into the musical mainstream. Read more...

Music Gallery - Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 August Scarborough Beached Live Music Festival By Roland Standaert.
	Checkout this incredible 11 page photograph gallery of Scarborough Beached Live Music Festival sent in by Roland Standaert. The four day festival's fifth year is captured beautifully by Rolands superb shots of the bands and their audiences. You may just be featured yourself....so get clicking and have a look. Read more...

Music Reviews - 13th September 05 - Kill Surf City at the Sesh By Michelle Dee
	Kill Surf City is generating a fresh wave on the Hull scene. Just a few months ago no-one had heard of this mixed (boy/girl) five-piece. I first saw them 17 August supporting the Applewhites at Ringside. That day I sat down pretty pissed off about things in general and life in particular, I happened to see a vaguely familiar face aside the stage. I recalled some weeks earlier, a conversation Read more...

Music Reviews - Friday 29th July 05 - Park and Ride, The Landaus and The Truth at KU Bar Stockton By Michelle Dee
	At half past three on a balmy Friday afternoon I clambered into the back of a hire van to make the journey to Stockton. Once inside, I was greeted by Hull's flagship band The Landaus, who were playing on the same bill, and a few fans of both bands including the much-loved Haribo and original party monster Dean Shakespeare. Danny Landau appears to have found the best seat Read more...

Music Reviews - Sunday 31st July 06 - Benefit Gig at Staks Bar By Joe Hakim Photos By Roland Standaert
	It's an early start, three in the afternoon, but it's for a good cause. Sundays, and the weekend in general, tend to be meaningless when you're unemployed, yet you always feel obligated to spend as much time in bed and do as little as possible in between bouts of napping. A lot of this is due to the fact that there's fuck all on TV on a Sunday. There's hardly anything good on TV during Read more...

Music Reviews - Monday 25th July - Hayseed Dixie at The Cockpit, Leeds By Joe Malarky Whole lotta Dixie
	I discovered Hayseed Dixie whilst searching for a version of Duelling Banjos in my local record shop. I won't go into why I was searching for the main tune from Deliverance, that's my business and anyway it's not important. What does matter is that I was intrigued by the Tennessee quartet. I did a little research and found that their beliefs are simple. All good songs Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday 18th June 05 - Yeti and White Rose Movement at Sweet n Sour at The Silhouette By JG Photos by Mo
	Tonight, Yeti's support came from London based White Rose Movement. As soon as the band dived into their first song, I really thought that I was going to love them. In fact, every one of the songs on their set started off sounding very promising; fantastic intros that grab your attention and prepare you for a song full of energy and catchy hooks. However, when the vocals Read more...

Music Reviews - Friday 29th July 05 - GST Cardinals at Ringside By Catherine Campbell
	As Hull's newest and most exciting band, GST Cardinals can really put on a show; their rock and roll sound with a splash of punk is real breathe of fresh air. A support act for the evening, GST Cardinals enchanted the crowd and certainly have a large following for such a new band. When these boys play, you can't help but listen. Read more...

Music Reviews - Wednesday 27th July 05 - Emma Rugg Oceans/Depart EP Launch at the Lamp By Michelle Dee Photos By Roland Standaert
	After the worldwide success of her 2003 album Isolated Impressions Emma has been back in the studio both at home in Hull and in New York and put together a particular set of tracks marking a change of direction in her music. Emma welcomes us all to the Lamp with a bright smile and breezy Hello and an acknowledgement to the artists Shep and Steve Reed who have Read more...

Music Reviews - Saturday 16th July 05 - Doing Hull a Favour - Silhouette Club By Joe Hakim
	So I'm walking down Beverley Road, and as I'm walking this car stops at the lights and a guy hangs it head out of the window and shouts across to me, "Ey, mate...yeah you!" I try to ignore him, but seeing as I'm the only person on the street, there's no doubt in my mind that he's talking to me. Shit... "I think yer've dropped summat, mate," he yells. Read more...

Music Reviews - Tuesday 5th July - Dirty Dreamers, The Saved and Substitute at the Sesh By Michelle Dee
	Over the last few months the Sesh live music night at the Linnet and Lark has been regularly pulling in 150+ people every Tuesday night. Bands from Hull and further afield choose the Princes Avenue pub as the place to be seen. In the last twelve months the Sesh has grown steadily in popularity so that on any Tuesday you are guaranteed quality entertainment amongst a knowledgeable crowd of musicians Read more...