Well, the first gig of a new year and a new season and it started wholly unexpectedly when, in tried and trusted traditions, I didn't take any notes, and several days later completely forgot who the first two bands had been!! What I did remember, though, were the last 2 bands, of which the first was a touring band from Leeds called A Lot Like Eskimos. They immediately stamped their mark on proceedings by presenting a seriously professional sound and approach to a seriously hot bunch of songs. They have this tall, lanky lead singer who loks more like an indie version of a pipe cleaner, realy flying around on stage and providing a strong sounding set of indie songs with a really solid vocal, as they flew through a sea of emo-laced pop-punk gems that flew from the PA with surging guitars and driving rhythms. Mostly fairly fast-paced,k they nevertheless mostly consisted of songs to which you could both leap about and sing along. Even on first hearing, a clutch of them were memorable for a few days, one called "Good Vibrations" (not the Beach Boys number!!) hitting the spot while others exuded similar high-flying verses and hooks. Tight, visually entertaining and solid, but highly enjoyable, they really went down well with the partisan crowd and received a great reception at the end of the set. Not only that, but they had the good grace to stick around for most of The Floor's set.
The Floor have been absent from the Dundee Scene for a while, so it was with some curiosity that I approached this, theirfirst gig for ages. Well, in short, they were sensational. The opening is amazing - after a brief foray into subtlety with rining guitar, the band, a quartet of two electric guitars, bass and drums, let loose this absolutely massive barrage of storm-force guitar riffs, swirling leads and searing heat rhythms, backed by this rock solid rhythm section with bassist and drummer making the maelstrom sound and look effortless. The description that came into my head was "a million angry wasps pursued by a tank", something which, while wildly descriptive, is perhaps not far off the mark. What made it even more amazing, as the band piledrive their way through sizzling and ultra-intense, dual-guitar dominated compisitions, was the fact that they played it all so tight - not a note dropped, not a note out of place, not a note wasted - but that visually it was just as specatcular. To see the guitarist on your left wave the guitar around like an out-of-control rifle while still playing every note, riff and lead to perfection, was a real sight to behold, while the drummer's keeping it all under control and driving it forward by making the complex density and drumming intricacy look like a walk in the park, all the time the bass player unleashing this stomach-churning barrage of bass that really underpins the rest. The song protions of the compositions do sound like they should be there, not just afterthoughts of a guitar display, all of which makes the incendiary performance, even more special. But, at the heart of it all, are two guitarists who can make the tender sound gorgeous and the power, positively jaw-dropping. You can't single out any part of this set above any other - it's an experience from start to finish and one that blasts you away at the same time as drawing you in. In short, stunning - and I can't wait for the next one!!