Armed only with acoustic guitar, harmonica and a frustratingly apologetic demeanour, first to take to the stage on a frankly freezing March night was NATHAN BURTON. Standing out in a crowded marketplace of sensitive strummers requires either exceptional talent or a unique sonic approach – unfortunately Burton possesses neither. I was left unmoved by his tepid confessionals - undoubtedly heartfelt though they were.
If I was some kind of crazy-ass genetic essentialist, I would be tempted to suggest that tendencies towards excessive hashish intake, cryptic humour and general beat groupery were hardwired in the Liverpudlian brain. The Maybes? conform to type – adding somewhat tedious sexual banter, Beach Boys harmonies and ‘Hush’-era Deep Purple heaviosity to the mix. Adolescent laddism aside, The Maybes? make heavy, trippy, tuneful rock and should be really quite good when they grow up a little.
Showcasing an innovative approach to set listing, Cardiff’s THE KEYS boldly cover two stone cold classics - The Byrd’s ‘Feel a whole lot better’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Lucifer Sam’ (also recently given a live reworking by The Flaming Lips) - within their first four numbers. Fortunately the band’s originals cut the mustard - the Coralesque ‘From tense to loose to slack’ and the Hawkwind rush of ‘Love your sons and daughters’ being particularly groovy.
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Unfortunately, what crowd there was had substantially diminished by the time the Keys begin, making for a distinct lack of atmosphere. Still, the band soldier on, and even take the trouble to praise the Night and Day as a venue - making me shudder at the thought of what terrible toilets they must have played prior to this.
The night ends with two charming clichés – inter-band shirt swapping and a spot of instrument destruction, with vocalist Matthew Evans gamely throwing his guitar at the drums. Now there’s rock and roll for you.
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