O’MESSY LIFE

Now we’ve seen these boys before (The Vaccines at The Cluny if my memory serves me well) and again they kick up a storm. Poguesy, Men They couldn’t hangy, folky, raucous and the perfect opener on a Friday night hoe down at the Westgarth. The crowd stare and go for another beer but as they return they realise that these boys are quite good. The set builds and builds and finishes with a rocking out that leaves the crowd wanting more. These boys are good and I’m sure the packed out Westgarth will welcome them back sooner rather than later. 

JIMMY & THE SOUNDS

Part Jam, part Maximo Park, part Futureheads, part Vapors. Resplendent in his Northern Line t-shirt (thanks James) these boys are becoming a big draw. When people have obviously turned up to see a support band you know that they must be good. Last time we came across this lot was at the Stockton Festival last year. This was when they threw t-shirts into the crowd and created a carnival atmosphere during their set. Tonight they were a lot more subdued. Maybe it was playing support, maybe it was the size of the stage. I enjoyed their set, as did most of those in attendance but they never quite hit the spark that they did last summer. Great sing-a-long choruses and tunes a-plenty but they seemed as if they were going through the motions. I look forward to seeing them when they are back on form. Geeing up the audience, bouncing round the stage, whipping up a storm. Come on boys you know you’ve got more to give….

Jimmy & the Sounds Set List:

Adventure

10,000 Times

Gravity

Carried Away

Little Victories

Sounds

Heart For Rent

YOUNG REBEL SET

Like a victorius football team coming home with the cup Young Rebel Set return to Teesside. Like conquering heroes they bound on stage. The place is packed. The busiest I’ve seen it since The Vaccines played last year. This doesn’t feel like a local band playing to their mates. This feels like genuine contenders flexing their muscles. Now I’ve been following Young Rebel Set since I stumbled across them, as Billy the Kid, on the beach in Scarborough in the summer of  2008. Almosr 3 years later they are still to release their debut album. But rather than accusing them of procrastination I feel it has been worth the wait. A number of the songs on tonights set have been with them since that balmy summers day. But rather than getting bored it’s just made me more desperate to get my hands on their debut. They play 12 songs tonight and each one sounds like it should have been a hit. Familiarity has certainly bred little contempt. The audience love them and sing/shout along to every tune. There is even some dancing! We don’t often see that at the Westgarth. But these boys get your toes tapping and your feet racing. From the opener Down the Line to Measure of a Man, Fall Hard, Won’t get up Again and the final two; If I was and Walk On. Every song is greeted like a long lost friend. Stockton’s or should that be Teesside’s finest have a lot of expectation on their shoulders but time and a honing of their skills have made them carry that expectation like a prize rather than a burden. I hope their time has come to be the over-night sensations we always knew they could be. Fingers crossed……..

Young Rebel Set Set List:

Down the Line

Lions Mouth

Measure of a Man

Already Forgotten

Precious Days

Fall Hard

Borders

Won’t Get Up Again

Red Bricks

Criminal

If I Was

Walk On

LINKS:

YOUNG REBEL SET                               http://www.myspace.com/youngrebelset

O’MESSY LIFE                                 http://www.myspace.com/omessylife                                                   

JIMMY & THE SOUNDS                   http://www.myspace.com/jimmyandthesounds

THE WESTGARTH                             http://www.westgarths.com

THE KIDS ARE SOLID GOLD     http://www.myspace.com/thekidsaresolidgold

By peter on March 15, 2011