IIIrd + Lucy And The Catepillar
Friday September 22nd
Manchester, Night & Day Cafe
The Night & Day Cafe’s brilliant, to be fair, despite being rather overpriced. Sure, the stage is weirdly placed, and the pillar down front isn’t well placed, but it’s got a really nice ambience to it. Tonight’s really no different. The XFM tag kind of made me think that this was going to be a promotional party, but it wasn’t all that bad. As I enter, there are signs on the door saying tickets for tonight’s show are œ10 (Hadn’t it sold out?!), and upon entering, I’m verbally attacked by a blonde girl for picking an XFM badge up to read. A short time later, and the first artist is up on stage – halfway through the set, I realise it’s the same girl – Lucy and The Caterpillar. Not being in a very receptive mood, it’s all just background music, but a short 4-5 song set has me listening to her Myspace right now. Delicate female vocals over simple acoustic music – and I quite like it.
Wakefield‘s Napoleon IIIrd is up next – a fella with a backing track and electric guitar. Now, I listened earlier in the day, and wasn’t blown away – I expected it to be something like music from The Mighty Boosh, and listening to the Myspace now, the vocals do sometimes step into ‘Old Gregg’ territory – but it’s not bad by half. Again, this is background music, but it’s alright. I don’t hate it, and at times I’m drawn in. The Myspace is a good listen, so head on over, and check it out, maybe.
Tonight’s penultimate artist is Jeremy Warmsley. The first time I saw him was with Liam Frost, back on the tour for The Mourners of St. Paul’s single, and, it has to be said, I thought he was pretty bobbins. Tonight’s no different, really, and I pay very little attention.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly! is going from strength to strength, and the amount of people who are out tonight shows this. It seems like such a long time since those days at The Phoenix where 5 of us would stand in the front row, the other bands would mull around behind us, and the rest of the bands’ friends would find some excuse to leave early – but those days are gone – I could head straight into a rant about how no-one has any courtesy any more, but I’ll just concentrate on tonight’s set. Playing through the entirity of his major label debut ‘The Chronicles Of a Bohemian Teenager’, with the addition of the recent B-side, and a cover of a song I have no idea about, showed tonight just how GCWCF is progressing. With the aid of Mikey on cornet, and Andy on drums, and that big mystical box of lights on strings, bass and beats, we’re treated to about 45 minutes of Southend charm, as within the first few songs, Sam’s already hit his head fairly hard on a speaker, and begins to speak a load of rubbish. An Oak Tree has technical difficulties with the main mic, but that detracts nothing from, in my opinion, the weakest song on the album. The first single I-Spy is met with loud cheers, whereas the highlight for me is War Of The Worlds. Sam was on form tonight, and based on tonight’s performance and turnout, the album’s surely going to be a hit.
(Cool Setlist: Once More With Feeling, An Oak Tree, Chronicles Of a Bohemian Teenager Part Two, I-Spy, The Children Are (The Consumers Of) The Future, War Of The Worlds, Whitewash Is Brainwash (Acoustic), The Lighthouse Keeper, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly!, If I Had A Pound For Every Stale Song Title I’d Be 30 Short Of Getting Out Of This Mess, Glasshouses, Call Me Ishmael, Chronicles Of a Bohemian Teenager Part One.
Encore: Abra Cadabra (Cover)
Dave