Review of Sons Ltd Showcas at the Victoria Hall (19/04/08)

After the success of the last event the record label based in Stoke-on-Trent decided to do another. The bands were all in high spirits after their recent domination of the Independent Label Singles Chart. They managed to claim four of the top five places with only The Futureheads crashing the party at number two. The main problem with the gig was if you went to the last one it was pretty much an exact replica of that. Yes they did change the running order and there were a couple more additions, but nothing dramatic. I am afraid I cannot offer you any of my expertly taken photo's, as I foolishly forgot me camera. Oops!
This time The Novellos were promoted to earlier on in the night and they snatched this opportunity with both hands. They stole the show for me with a passionate display. It seemed that they wanted to be there more than anyone else and thrived on the big stage. The lad with the big curly afro style hairdo epitomised this the most (the picture below is not actually him but is not to far off). He charged around the stage like a man possessed before he finally jumped into the crowd for a boogie with the front few rows. He was the main focal point and had a hand in almost everything. I think that is about enough of ranting on about him so I'll move onto someone else.

Go to The Novellos MySpace page

This Is Seb Clarke were the band that followed them and they are also a band that stand out. They are a small army of identically uniformed musicians including a large brass band. It is impossible to compare them to anything else as it simply doesn't exist. Every member does their bit and has ample chance to grab some of the limelight. Not a fan of the three minute pop song their tunes make Led Zeppelin seem like a punk band. Unfortunately a large part of the crowd had departed but this could have been down to a scrap in the audience. It seems to be a bit of a tradition at these events as a similar situation also marred the last event. One lad was left fully sparked out after a bunch of thugs had their wicked way with him.
The rest of the bands all did their little bit but none of them stood out or offered anything new. There was also time for a few special guests to play the DJ in between acts. The most notable of these was Carl Barat and Didz from Dirty Pretty Things. Again there was nothing outstanding about their choice of songs it was just a way of filling the gaps and kepping the crowd happy. They both seem pickled (heavily intoxicated) but posed for photographs, signed autographs etc.

Check out Monday 21st of April's edition of The Sentinel for my alternative review.