by Brandon van der Berg @vdb.brandon
Two acts of brilliantly nostalgic new wave Rock’n’roll sandwiched between some great indie pop made for a really upbeat night. The energy from all bands was there and each of them put a fantastic effort towards a collectively stellar performative experience.
Read about each of the acts below.
The Situation
Seeing The Situation’s frontman Introduce, embellish, grant or exclaim with all the bruhaha’d showmanship of an olden circus performer is-
“Our guitarist is having a wee… we’re sorry”
Proceeds to have a jam to fill the time, I dub “Piss inspired Elevator Music Sonata 251 in P Major”.
The shakes of his head that fall on the resolution of each vocal phrase are easily pictured when one recalls a wasp flying at ones face, and that hastily flinch before rabidly confronting the microphone has a similar taste for the fearsome gout one needs to successfully stand up to a yellow-jacket.
I f*cking hate wasps, angry little b*stards.
That energy would be sorely placed if his peers had not put themselves in the figurative shoes of those same early performers like him, which they do confidently, leaving space for the frontman to do his job. I recall those live TV show segments of The Beatles, The Moody Blues, The Beach Boys and others putting on acts incomparably appropriate for their time.
The same energy is found with The Situation, a band who play their music, how it was meant to be performed.
Everything I heard was designed incredibly well, the tone of the instruments, the harmonies of the vocals and the drummer who has some really great energy on stage which seems to resonate through his face like a Ouija board of divine stank.
In fact, the songs were written and performed so well, I had to go up to the singer and ask if they were covers or originals.
They were ‘mostly’ originals by the way though I remember the great spectacle that was ‘Elvis Presley’s – Jailhouse Rock’.
Find them on Instagram or Spotify
For Fans Of The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys.
Aderyn
A frontwomen draped in lucent red, a band togged up in pink bucket hats with a large bedazzled ‘ADERYN’ across the front and some elegant performative gestures.
“This is a song about the infatuation I had with a boy who worked in a chip shop during covid”
Arguably not what I expected to see in a night of Blues and rock’n’roll but nevertheless hit a spot.
This was a set that was all over the place, positively speaking. Seeking to entertain you in a new and different way every song, switching instruments for the frontwomen to show off her drum chops or falling backwards to lean on the leg adjacent to other as it kicks out, slamming on the fret board as she does so.
A classic rocka’ move that.
“THIS IS CHIP SHOP BOY”
Songs waver between a sobering choke and a pronounced anger, passionately clashing against the two at times to create that classic indie pop sound.
Find them on Instagram or Spotify
For Fans Of Cat Ryan, Noah Kahan and The 1975.
The Sunshine Blues Band
“Hello everyone, we are ‘The Sunshine Blues Band’ and we’re gonna play some blues and rock’n’roll for you.”
On Lead Guitar, Ollie Armstrong.
Hair ‘The Lion King’s Mufasa would be jealous of, Red velvet flares that Austin Powers would keel over in envy over and a wholesomely wide smile that the 'Mickey Mouse’s Goofy would bare-knuckle Donald Duck for.
On Drums and Vocals, Louis McCausland.
An ambitiously tight drummer when it comes to singing and fronting the band simultaneously. At any given time I was not far off from a flawless run on either instrument. The way he gently leans into his lyrics is smooth, inoffensive and vibrant. Someone who seems blissfully aware of himself, and uses it to great affect.
On Bass, Will Murphy.
Resident groove artist clad in perspired swagger. Smiling with that chewing gum attitude, you know that ‘Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ look that makes you look fun but daring? Gluing in that incredibly tight rhythm section whilst jumping on a spot of slide guitar for a demonstration of refined, overdriven catharsis justly titled, “Metal Blues”.
Either way you look there is a defined attraction and to put it bluntly, it’s just well thought out, good entertainment.
A spirited cargo of old school doo wop.
Throughout the performance the crowd were urged out of their shells and by the end, near the whole crowd spaced out individually to give themselves maximum boogie area.
The presence of their craft is hard to ignore and even harder to not enjoy, when it all comes together to form some classic, belty goodness.
Everyone together now
"YOU KNOW IM SICK AND TIRED, OF WORKING FOR THE GUY"
What a fantastic night
Find them on Instagram or Spotify
For Fans Of Led Zeppelin, Cream and The Beatles.
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