I’m a bad reviewer. I arrive at 8.30 and I’m too late to see Ham Sandwich. Which is a shame, because I know they’re very good. I’m sorry Ham Sandwiches.
I’d heard some of the Dirty Epics recordings and hadn’t been blown away. Live, they’re another story altogether. Marshal Stacks and heavy drum sticks make a great dirty racket. But most importantly they’ve got a really impressive front person in Sarah Jane Wai O’Flynn – she jumps, gyrates and can hold her own against a very loud band. You can imagine them supporting the Stooges in some New York dive in the early 1970s. In fact, Sarah Jane is performing like that’s exactly where they are.
There’s nothing wrong with 21 Demands. They’re skilled musicians. They have a tight sound (spacey ska-rock) and they look nice. The drummer twirls his drum-sticks and the bass player has lovely black and red shoes. I can imagine them taking that wholesome sound and crafting some pop classics. But they haven’t done it yet.
The Chapters are a lovely anachronism. The bass player’s burgeoning afro, the keyboard player’s keyboard racks, the tight-knit harmonies, the relaxed joy-de-vivre in their performance... it’s 1970s influenced, beach-bum rock. They seem to reference stuff like Chicago, the Eagles... even, and I mean this as a compliment – Huey Lewis and the News. The Chapters also show touches of contemporary garage rock, but keep ploughing that weird and unfashionable 70s furrow, that’s what I say. There’s gold in them hills.
The Coronas (pictured) bring the biggest fanbase and perform against it, but at the moment the Coronas aren’t doing anything that Razorlight and the Kooks don’t do. Personally speaking I’m surprised those bands are successful, so I think you can do better than that Coronas. (At this point the reviewer wags his finger in a matronly fashion and strolls off into the night).