*Gig took place at Sound Control, not as above*
There are 4 bands on the bill tonight but my arrival at 8 means I miss the first band, THAT SUNDAY FEELING unfortunately. The local support SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR SUMMER soon follow though.
The next half hour is full of energy and it’s clear from the crowd that STYS have brought some support with them. The re-recorded debut EP is prevalent throughout, including ?Dance All Night?, which the band ask the crowd to ‘boogie’ to, if anything though it’s one of their slower songs. ?Sing It Loud? soon follows as their finale, which is a lot more uptempo and a great end. This is everything I expect/wish for from a local support, packets of the crowd really into it, great intensity/energy from the band, just plain fun. It all creates a good positive atmosphere for the main acts to build upon. [3.5/5]
STRAIGHT LINES are next up and it’s fair to say these Welsh lads have had a pretty good 2010. Tonight really builds and improves upon their performance at Slam Dunk, when I saw them last. They play 7 of the 12 songs from ?Persistence In The Game? and the majority go down excellently with the Manchester crowd. I’ve always thought that they have a slight vulnerability about them but this comes across as quite endearing and they’ve definitely got something that sets them apart from the rest.
?Versus The Allegiance? is an excellent start and ?Say It For Your Sake, as the new single, is also superb. ?All My Friends Have Joined The Army? is a slight disappointment, but that’s mainly because I love this song so much and it just doesn’t meet the same heights. ?Perfect Mistake? finishes things off and is probably the best of all with everyone really getting into it. Straight Lines leave this Manchester crowd craving more and the comment they’ll be back in November to support Less Than Jake will be good news for all. [4/5]
ATTACK! ATTACK! are on stage before you know it due to a quick changeover and come on to the A-Team theme, which shortly leads into ?Say It To Me? – a great opening. The set is a good mixture of old and new tracks and they all come across very well. The band appear very happy to be back on the road and there’s good chit chat/banter to accompany it.
The older tracks naturally get more interest from the crowd but they’re all delivered with great success. As time passes the band also get more and more into it, appearing to feed off the energy of the crowd, whilst growing in stage presence. Despite all of this the best song of the night is one of their slowest songs, ?From Now On? and really impresses. The finish of ?Honesty? and ?Too Bad Son? though are outstanding and proof that these songs from the ST album are superb material which will likely form part of their live sets for years to come.
The comparisons with Kids In Glass Houses will naturally come based on geography and genre similarities. They certainly have the potential to play to crowds of the same size and with two excellent albums now under their belt there’s no reason they can’t achieve this and more. [4.5/5]
Jamie Hind