Wednesday 9th August 06 - Prologue to Leeds: The Unsigned Bands Showcase at The Welly (2/4) By Joe Hakim Photos By Mo

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

Photograph Gallery   The Landaus Gallery,   Ernest Gallery,   The Dirty Dreamers Gallery,   The Bonnitts Gallery,   Scaramanga Six Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Mr. Beasley Gallery,   People Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3,   Gallery 4,   Gallery 5.

The Landaus are the first to take to the stage, and as soon as they pick up their instruments the crowd are assaulted with a deafening wail of feedback. It's soon sorted out though, and the lads go on to deliver a set that's slicker than oil spill in an ice rink. I've seen The Landaus on quite a few occasions, and they've managed to refine their sound into a fast and funky mix of bubblegum pop harmonies, choppy guitars and bouncing bass lines; a potent brew that gets all the girls up and dancing. A perfect kick off to the night then, and good indication of the kind of success that's in store for these lads.

Ernest are up next, and the musical contrast couldn't be starker. I've been meaning to check out this band for a long time, and they don't let me down. They roll in on a wave of delayed guitars, samples and echo drenched synths. They have a real get your head into sound, a multi-layered mish-mash that just begs to be decoded by frequent listening. But just when I have them pegged as some kind of prog-monster, they throw some crazy arse funk into the mix! Onstage, they create a huge hulking mutant music beast, complete with melodramatic mid-song pauses and nasal-whine vocals.

They have a completely unique sense of pace and dynamics, combining lop-sided lolloping techno grooves with Freaky Styley era Chili Peppers basslines and vocals. By the end of their set I'm converted. I will definitely be checking these lads out again, sooner rather than later.

It's the turn of The Dirty Dreamers next, signalling another massive shift in sound. There is a noticeable crackle of electricity that goes through the crowd every time The Dreamers take to the stage. They peddle unashamed rock 'n roll in its purist form. They start out with Three Lines, a song that even your uncle knows the words to by now, and go on to deliver a faultless set that sums up the band in their entirety: loud, proud and lewd. It's safe to say that the rest of the world is starting to catch onto The Dirty Dreamers - even the NME is starting to take notice - so it's only a matter of time before they depart our orbit and start living out the excessive rock-star lifestyle that the rest of us mere mortals can only (dirty) dream about.

Good luck to 'em, I say. I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Bonnitts are probably my favourite indie-rock Hull band at this point in time. They have an expansive sound that has a real depth and seriousness to it. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean serious in a shoe gazing look-at-my-FX-pedal kind of way, but in so much as the fact that this is a band that's not afraid to write the kind of soaring, sweeping epics that have the potential to send bands like Coldplay and Doves into fits of jealous rage.

Continued .... Next Page (3/4)

Photographs courtesy and Copyright ©  Mo 2006

Photograph Gallery   The Landaus Gallery,   Ernest Gallery,   The Dirty Dreamers Gallery,   The Bonnitts Gallery,   Scaramanga Six Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Mr. Beasley Gallery,   People Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3,   Gallery 4,   Gallery 5.

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