Just a quick review for this show, a charity gig for the worthy cause of 'Help A London Child' which is headlined by Hertfordshire's best post-hardcore act Scream! Shout! Say Nothing with help from three fellow local bands.
The Body Electric is essentially a vehicle for singer-songwriter Dan Heuer. I only see two songs of their set, which are both a little dull on the live front but seem still to contain some interesting ideas. A debut EP has recently been recorded and should be released soon which could be interesting. They aren't exactly riveting live though, judging by the short portion of this set I witness. Escape 1942 have a fairly expansive sound, playing post-rock augmented by violin and often dual male/female vocals. This, from what they say on the night, is their first gig to a proper audience for quite some time and they seem a little bit nervous. Pleasant enough then but not on fire by any stretch of the imagination.
There Were Bears are fantastic. They are a Letchworth based band (two of them work in the excellent independent store David's Music) who play cinematic rock of the highest order that is at its best when exploding from soft melody to juddering heaviness. Impressive stuff indeed and their half hour set whizzes by in a whirl of shivering guitar and atmosphere. They don't seem to have any records out for sale anywhere but hopefully there'll be one soon. Scream! Shout! Say Nothing have a problem tonight. Singer Ben Davies has a sore throat and, whenever he hurls himself into one of his trademark 110% screams, the microphone cord falls out, again and again and again, to the point where he's reduced to leaving the mic attached to the stand. S!S!SN are also missing bassist Chris Hollis tonight but are instead joined by Nick from The October Game (who are a band I keep meaning to get into...you should too). The evening ends with everyone piling onstage for a mass singalong to "Gimme Inner Peace Or I'll Mop The Floor With Ya", always a fitting way to end a set and a fitting conclusion to a good night's local music.
The Body Electric - 5/10
Escape 1942 - 6/10
There Were Bears - 8/10
Scream! Shout! Say Nothing - 7/10
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