Kill Surf City By Michelle Dee (1/2)

(1/2), (2/2).

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,    Gallery 2.

The fresh five-piece from Hull have fast become the band name to drop in any discerning musos discourse. Recent months has seen them leapfrogging the opposition and quickly reaching and surpassing a few significant milestones. The band had barely been together two months when they headlined at the Sesh (see review thisisull.com ) Linnet and Lark.

This was quickly followed by more equally astounding gigs at Adelphi, Ringside and an entertaining midweek slot at Indeecent. For a while it seemed that every promoter and venue worth their salt wanted the Kill Surf siren singing on their stage.

Before long, they had been snapped up to play Sweet n Sour, Hull's second biggest indie club night at the Silhouette Club. Then by some extraordinary twist of fate they opened for The Subways alongside rising stars The Kooks. A few weeks later Kill Surf played the same venue again this time in altogether different circumstances.

The monthly local band night Thee Box has been situated at Asylum for well over a year now but has been beset with problems since its inception.

One: the venue is too big for local bands to fill. Two: the ticket system is flawed bands don't like the pressure of having to sell tickets to their own shows; this system inevitably leads to some strange running orders. Such as bands like the Fifty nine Violets acting as openers... Three: asylum is located within the University grounds which puts many people off and it is just far enough away from the main drag to make people think twice before making the trip.

Four: the twenty, thirty at most, students that regularly drink in there on the night are unfriendly towards outsiders and not interested in supporting the local scene at all. Five: the bar is about as far from the stage as possible; in between the two is the seating areas then the huge expanse of the dance floor that remains empty for the most part. This is due in part to the fact you can't take your drinks on the dance floor. Though I seem to remember this rule not being enforced on the regular student Friday nights..?

Last year Thee Box boasted a projected screen which brought the bands vividly to life for those watching from the back of the room. This was one of the few things the night had in its favour, that and the cheap drinks, the last few times I have been this enhancing backdrop has not been utilised. So back to Kill Surf City they graced the Asylum stage with something less than their normal levels of enthusiasm and proceeded to play an unappreciated set. The opening suite included the gloriously fatalistic 6am, the desperate clawing of Celebrity and the spiritual comfort that the Gilmour-esque chord structure bestows the listener during Speed.

All these tracks you can find on their eponymous debut demo, plus one more for your aural delight. I watched with sympathy for the five-piece as I looked for Danny thrashing his guitar wildly as he throws it around, a sight I had come to love from previous gigs, but tonight none of that was present. Two weeks before hand they played the same venue to a packed house and now... a bitter pill to swallow. Still it looks good on a CV though fact is they'd just got Hull University on their played list...

Continued ...next page (2/2)

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Michelle Dee 2005

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,    Gallery 2.

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