Judging a book by its' cover is invariably questionable, and would certainly be a rash move when considering the first of tonight's two supports AUDIO GYPSIES.
Visually, they're an image-maker's worst nightmare and probably best described as a melange of anti-styles. Stage centre they have a long-haired singer/ guitarist with a goblin T-shirt who looks like he could be an escapee from a sports metal band. He's flanked by a second singer/ guitarist who has dark, curly hair and looks like a more traditional indie band stalwart and a dreadlocked bassist wearing a combat jacket who brandishes a fabulous Rickenbacker bass complete with huge Humbucker pick-up. Lurking somewhere at the rear is an adept-sounding drummer, though we're told he's due to move back to his native Italy shortly, so perhaps we shouldn't get too hung up on him, however good he sounds tonight. And he does indeed sound good.
Which is also the deal where Audio Gypsies are concerned overall. However refreshingly visually confusing they may be, they make a bloody agreeable noise when they start cranking some songs out. Things are already getting interesting by the second tune "Thorn In My Side" - which concludes with a mad dash of a polka hoedown and some lead guitar Richard Thompson himself would be proud of - but really take off when the band hit their stride with several bittersweet pop laments of the La's/ Coral variety such as the excellent "That's The Way Of The World."
Actually, the longer they play, the more you realise what an embarrassment of sonic riches Audio Gypsies are hoarding. "One Life" features blaring harmonica and a fine grasp of tough'n'catchy pop, while arguably the best set-piece of all is the rampant derange-o-billy of "Comforts Of A Padded Cell", with its' RP MacMurphy-friendly "la la la la la" chorus. Their half-hour breezes past and I would like to make a more serious date with them after this extremely likeable first snog.
However promising Audio Gypsys are, though, they initially look like they might be quickly usurped by LONG LOST BROTHER. This Irish quartet look and sound sharp instantly, and feature a lead singer/ guitarist who looks a little like a younger Kelly Jones and sings with the pinched intensity of Marc Bolan. They also bookend their set with two fantastic songs, "A Little At A Time" and "Sympathy", which make up their new double-A side single. Both of these are heady affairs and have me thinking favourably of early Suede.
All of which is enought to have the pulse racing, but sadly their desire to be epic and searing throughout the set sometimes derails them. On a couple of occasions they're so desperate to reach crescendo point that they seriously overcook the dish, while on songs like "Don't Turn On The TV" (sample lyric: "Tell the postman not to call today/ I've already got enough bills to pay" ) they have a tendency to fall back on platitudes. Still, "I Don't Believe You" - delivered with the singer swinging a megaphone around ominously - is a further meaty treat and overall Long Lost Brother sound like a relative you wouldn't be embarrassed to bring out on family occasions. Some honing and we'd really be in business.
But however attractive the entrees are, they're still no match for the tasty, celebratory banquet STANLEY SUPER 800 have prepared for us on the evening of their hometown return. Still one of the hardest working of all the Irish bands out there, they are ostensibly here to promote their excellent new "2 Hours Late" EP, but are clearly happy to send us off on the odd wild goose chase en route to stealing our hearts.
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As ever, expect the unexpected is the rule of thumb in the Stans' surreal world, and tonight it accommodates the band kicking off with a brief country set. A mellow, early afternoon at Glastonbury kinda vibe prevails as debut album highlights "Summer In The City" (or "Summer In The Country" if you will) and "For Today" are reinvented in an alt-country vein. It's a strange, but cool idea, and with Tosh expertly plucking the banjo and drummer Dave giving it some Brandon Butler with some exquisite lap steel, the songs' hayseed Dixie reinvention works surprisingly well.
They clearly see no need to force the pace, and continue on with Dave moving to guitar for the sinewy acoustics'n'beats interplay of "Voices In The Music." Indeed, it's only when the hit the fifth tune, "Harmonics" that Dave's finally in situ behind the drums. He proceeds to give his kit a regal Mooning during a vicious, knife-edge version of the track and then the band really start to up the ante by smouldering through their EP's lead cut "It's All Over Now". Tonight's version is delivered with some scything guitar from Stan and a considerable swagger. It's a heady reminder that the song is their best anthemic tune yet.
The diversity keeps on coming as the band hit another of the new EP'S best songs in the daffy psychosis of on-the-road diary "Over And Over" and finally get around to further debut album highlights with "Mountain Climbing" and the concluding "Rolled Up In Gold". Both are thrilling, amphetamined-up and dispatched at a frantic pace, with Dave thrashing the shit out of his disco-y hi-hat beats on the former and the slashing riffage of "Rolled Up In Gold" coming pumped up to a degree that should come with a health warning. The way the Cheshire cat grin spreads across bassist Flor's face as he gets lost in the sheer joy of the latter is arguably the highlight of the whole evening, in fact.
They're not liable to escape without some further muscled-up encore action, and so it transpires as they take the curtain call with a crazed re-wiring of "Summer In The City" (in something akin to its' original form) and a final tune that is led by another of Stan's great bitten-off Lou Reed riffs. By this time, the clock is pushing on towards 1AM, and while we've no desire to let them go, reality inevitably bites and it all finally winds down.
So no complaints. Tonight was one of those great, value for money nights with three very different bands all vying for a piece of our collective heart. Both the Audio Gypsies and Long Lost Brother will require monitoring in future, but for now the real stars are Stanley Super 800, whose canny way with a tune and passionately irreverent method of delivering the goods continues to be one of the best tonics for the soul available in public.
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