South View Juniors / Columbo / The Unfortunate Incident / The Worthing Ticket / Ultraxine

@ Leeds Cardigan Arms

First up are Ultraxine, a two-piece acoustic duo who are without their drummer tonight. So they sit down and play us a few tracks from their new album 'Wireless'. It's a good mix of catchy melodies, well rehearsed harmonies and decent guitar work from a band that I think could do well with having a go at some more acoustic stuff. Most of the songs they played tonight sounded like they fit with the style already.

Next up (after a quick soundcheck) are The Worthing Ticket. I know these guys quite well and, despite being as young as they are, they manage to play a brilliant set. They mix covers of classics like 'Purple Haze' with their own creations, ranging from wild, classic rock tunes like 'Nymphomania' to slower, experimental tunes like 'Faces'. Despite only being second on, The Worthing Ticket create a good mood in this small venue, with everybody locked on to the stage and tapping along to the driving rhythms, the catchy melodies, and the inevitable face-melting solos you get from this band.

The Unfortunate Incident carry on the show in a more reserved manner. You can really feel the transition from the fury and sheer volume of the Worthing Ticket to the calmer, yet more defined tunes of TUI. Lead by the guitar and vocals of Russ Palmer TUI take us on another varied journey through their back catalogue. Ranging from a very "Coral" influenced 'My Autobiography' to the faster paced and religiously themed 'My God Your God His God Her God'. Special mention must be made for drummer Tom Wilks, who made his first appearance for team Incident tonight and thus decided he wanted to drum so crazily that there would be no drum kit for anyone else. Well done lad, nearly did it. Impressive set from a band that has a real knack for writing catchy songs and delivering them live as well as in the studio.

Columbo are a band that I am very excited about. Until now I'd never seen them live, but their recordings had sounded brilliant so expectations were high. And I wasn't disappointed. Columbo have a brilliant sound, that varies between every song as Patrick Gallagher's guitar echoes through 'The Discraceful Demise of Lullabies' while the sound is distorted and kicked up for the insanely catchy 'Toaster Make Burn Food'. There's that Radiohead air in the room of "What's Going To Happen Next?" - you don't know if a song's going to take your head off or just let you lie down and wash over you. Whatever happens it's a definite fact that you're going to enjoy the sound of Gallagher's guitar and vocals mixed with the intricate drumming of Josh Hannaby and the driving bass lines of Craig Asquith. They are, without a doubt, one of the most exciting bands around Leeds at the moment in my mind.

Finally, it's South View Juniors turn to take the stage. The venue is nearly full now (which never happens at the Cardigan Arms) so everybody's hoping that this band's going to be worth he wait. And SVJ deliver. They've had to follow some very good bands tonight but these guys have lived up to the task set for them. It's a change in the nights music style yes, but to be perfectly honest there hasn't been a continuous style at all. Each band has had such a variety of songs that the night has really catered for every rock fan's tastes. There's a definite Oasis influence in SVJ's music there's no doubt about that, 'You I'm Dreaming Of' for example, sounds a lot like 'Morning Glory', but SVJ are in no way a cover band. They have a great set at their disposal, and know how to use it. The venue doesn't allow much stage presence, but the music coming off it more than accounts for the lack of energy. 'Sinners' is a real highlight tonight, it's a really impressive song (and performance tonight) for a band that's hardly been around a year now.

Patrick Gunn

Deltics / Sammuel Sharp / To Sofia / Trojan Horse / The Black Knights

@ Manchester Ruby Lounge

The Black Knights take to the stage, haughty yet without an ounce of pretence. From the word go, it's dirty it's loud and bristling with venom. Thomas sits like a metallic fork in a microwave, waiting to explode; he throws sticks, spits, and cusses yet never misses a beat and gels brilliantly with the swank coming from Gary at the front. Gary, dressed to the nines, lays down some serious noise and pierces the whole onslaught with searing vocals. It's all mangled but it comes out sounding like modern art.

Trojan Horse are akin to some sort of lab-based musical experiment. They span a huge array of genres, seamlessly and effortlessly, so many that even the best wordsmith would struggle to 'nutshell' Trojan Horse. They are progressive and experimental, brutal and fierce, delicate and slinky. It's sonic mayhem and it makes for some of the most interesting and diligently written music you're likely to hear for some time. Highly recommended.

As far as technical ability goes, To Sofia are pretty breathtaking. A three-piece comprising of acoustic guitar, an odd drum box implement and a truly angelic voice provided some superb songs. Even with such a limited array of instruments, To Sofia made themselves heard. The quality too, made them difficult to ignore, despite being rather humble. An excellent display and enjoyable to say the least.

Samuel Sharp are raw, well, pink in the middle at least. Vocally, they are well above average. They growl about Hurricane Katrina but fluctuate into moments of pleasantry; a brilliant juxtaposition. A highly energetic beat-keeper, and general enthusiasm from each of the three members made Samuel Sharp a delight to watch.

Moments into a Deltics set, you may become quite scared. The music is striped down to the bare bones of brutish rock. It comes on like a bulldozer, drummer Gary driving the machine. The lack of vocals conjure up the true spirit of a man who debates with his fists. Odd time signatures add to the urchin malevolency of the music creating a sweeping sinister atmosphere. They don't give much away about whom they are, all you'll know after a Deltic gig, is that they mean business and they're capable of crushing small countries with their riffs.

Simon S Wright

The Vulcans

@ Sheffield Boardwalk

It was a re-union gig like no other. Which other group could boast a 48-year gap between gigs? When the teenage Vulcans went their separate ways in 1961, having played bookings (not gigs in those days) in the youth clubs and dance halls of Sheffield, few would have really noticed their passing. In fact I talked to several members of tonight's audience and none of them could truthfully say they ever actually went to see them. So why is the Boardwalk packed out to see their one-off reunion gig? The reason of course is that their lead guitar player is Chris Spedding. In the 70s and 80s, if you wanted a session guitar player, you rang Chris. He played studio guitar for Roxy and Elton, Roy Harper and John Cale, and less publicly, The Wombles and The Bay City Rollers. He produced (and some say played on) early demos by the Sex Pistols and even managed a solo hit, looking very much the cool dude in his leathers on TOTP. But tonight is about nostalgia for days before he, and the music we listened to, was so accomplished.

Chris is the most unassuming of Sheffield's musical heroes. Not for him interviews extolling the virtues of Henderson's Relish or Endcliffe Park café. He spent the entire time before he went on stage standing near the bar, chatting with the audience. Old friends and new, family members and complete strangers, he greeted them all, and was clearly loving being back with his old Sheffield mates. Somehow they have managed to re-unite the entire line-up of the Vulcans, complete with an old set list from somewhere, and this was going to be their night.

They kicked off, after an introduction from Dave Berry, with C'mon Everybody, and it was back to basics from then on. As you might have expected, Spedding carried the show, but the fun they were all having was evident to all. The playing was a bit rusty, but who cared? This was rock'n roll from the 50s and very early 60s. The songs seem dated now, but the last time they played them, back in 1961 this was real cutting-edge rebellious stuff. It was a night for nostalgia and the fun of being there at such a unique event. The next time Chris will be on stage in Sheffield will be with the overblown pomp and ceremony of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds tour, but there won't be a fraction of the joy in the whole of the Hallam FM Arena as there was in the Boardwalk tonight.

Review by Chris Xenra
Photography by Mark Perkins

Glasvegas / White Lies

NME Tour @ Hull University

It is a cold night, having scrapped a sharp layer of ice from my wind screen to even get to the venue, the ice rink of a car park didn't make for a hospitable welcome to Asylum. The chill in the night air, mixed with the economic downturn and the prospect for many of a bleak New Year meant the being gloomy may just be 2009's latest trend. Cue a bill made up entirely of black clad misery guts with a joint armoury of songs about stabbings, broken homes and for curtain raisers White Lies death, death and more death.

As one of Britain's most widely tipped new acts, White Lies took to the stage like seasoned veterans (presumably due to their on stage experience in former band Fear of Flying). The set, stage and lyrics were dark and their exciting take on the now commonly stolen Joy Division bass line went down well with the now partially defrosted audience. Singles 'Unfinished Business', 'To Lose My Life' and set closer 'Death' were notable high points in what was an impressive curtain raiser.

Around 9:30 headliners Glasvegas made their way to the stage. Backed by two blocks of floodlights, red and green Christmas lights overhead and a lots of smoke they dived straight into the anthemic 'Flowers And Football Tops'. Quite unexpectedly, the crowd's responded with football chants and a show of admiration more befitting to the nearby KC stadium played out. The misery continued with joyfully titled 'Fuck You It's Over' and 'Cheating Heart' before crowd pleaser 'Geraldine' brings an uplifting glow to the audience, Geraldine herself (now working for the band on merch) watches on from the side. The set gathers pace and the frustration in the band's lyrics builds up to leaving the stage after an epic 'Go Square Go'. Anticipation remains in the air, now electric with the array of new talent witnessed in Hull for the first time and it is finally given its release though an encore of 'Stabbed' and the eagerly awaited 'Daddy's Gone'.

Tonight's showing certainly suggested that 2009 won't be all doom and gloom. With the depressing times witnessed in the UK in the 80s and early 90s spawning some of this country's most inspiring music, early offerings from the Smiths, New order and the debuts of Pulp, Blur and Suede all played out in front of a backdrop of hard times. Maybe a difficult year for many may turn out to be the inspiration for a new step forward in British talent.

Pete Brookes

Wet Paint

@ Manchester Channel M Studios

Comprising 60% of Absentee, and James Wignall of Economy Wolf, Wet Paint visit Channel M's Manchester studios at short notice this afternoon, replacing the 'tired' Of Montreal, who gig at the Academy in the evening. Currently touring with Bloc Party, the four-piece make a convincing, introspective clatter, seemingly inspired by the best bits of the late 80's / early 90's slacker movement, and embody very little in the way of traditional British guitar music, channeling generous amounts of Pavement and Dinosaur Jr into their sound rather than nodding to any cliched UK lineage of Kinks and Smiths, although some raw Coxon-esque fretwork is evident in several of their tunes this afternoon, although it's more 'Coffee and TV' than 'Country House'.

Tweaking their usual setlist for this pre-recorded TV performance, Wet Paint offer up half a dozen slices of vulnerable, scuzzy lo-fi, incorporating guitars that clang and shimmer in equal measure, solemn yet impassioned basslines, and moshpit friendly drumming. Vocals are buried shyly in the mix but singer Babak Ganjei is more than capable of a cathartic Cobain throaty growl as well as a Malkmus drawl when required. Wet Paint may never achieve blanket radio play and promotion but with their understated, DIY image and college rock sound they are a kind reminder of when the alternative music scene offered shelter for the outsider rather than empty credibility for the scenester.

David Lichfield

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