Over the years, this writer's read many a tale of rivalry and disharmony between touring bands. Back in the day, the Jimi Hendrix Experience hung the Walker Brothers' drummer on a coat hook with him still in it and placed stink bombs under his hi-hat and bass drum pedals; Joy Division surreptitiously released a box full of white mice on to the Buzzcocks' coach and in slightly more recent times Matt Johnson from The The and Luke Haines from The Auteurs ended up daggers drawn while sharing an ill-matched bill.
These days, however, cameraderie holds sway, it seems. Or at least where the very promising combination of Leeds' iLiKETRAiNS and Leicester's Kyte is concerned. Arriving early at the merchandise stand, W&H are confronted by two of the lads from Kyte helpfully manning the Trains' stall while their merch chap has nipped out for some pre-gig scoff. They're the essence of politeness, too: even rummaging around in several large space saver boxes to locate a wayward 'I Am Murdered' T-shirt in XL for your reviewer. Nothing, as the old cliche goes, seems too much trouble.
A little later, the lads in question - bassist Ben and guitarist Nick (I think, as there are two guitarists,. the other called Scott) - are being equally accommodating in helping their band KYTE scale sizeable peaks of musical prowess during their oft-inspired 40 minutes or so onstage. As befits an outfit from the Leicester hinterland (previously responsible for bands as disparate and fascinating as Yeah Yeah Noh, Prolapse and Redcarsgofaster) they are just that little bit different, if rather less gnarly and more determinedly in pursuit of beauty than a couple of the names I've just mentioned.
Patient layering of sounds and subtle grooves are predominantly the order of the day with Kyte. The guitars chime and intertwine, the rhythms are supple, but not overplayed and singer Tom makes like a cross between a young Mark. E. Smith and a mad scientist as he hunches over a laptop and prods away between vocals. Choruses aren't exactly high in the batting order, but extra touches like the tinkly glockenspiel add to the sense of wonder their music evokes and their set-closing tune demonstrates that they are adept at building a memorable crescendo when the mood takes them. Unassuming they may be, but on this form, Kyte are indeed cleared for take off.
Leeds' iLiKETRAiNS, on the other hand, have been creative high-flyers for the best part of five years now, although the dramatic, widescreen sweep of their music has taken a little while to gain a wider foothold. Like Kyte, this is the first time they've set foot on irish soil, and the turn-out is a little thin on the ground. There again, as singer David Martin later notes, "it feels like our first show here altogether" as apparently no-one turned up the previous night in Galway, so at least the Cork faithful are sizeable enough to make it all worthwhile.
Besides, iLT's first Irish sojourn is more than reason enough to run up the flags for the discerning. Their debut album proper, 'Elegies For Lessons Learned' is a vast, sombre beauty and destined to be remembered as one of 2007's finest records, while their highly-regarded stage show more than demonstrates why they are becoming a live draw of some repute.
The iLT extravaganza works on two levels. Firstly, in a visual sense they are considerably more arresting than most bands trawling around the indie circuit, and while their previous station master garb has been replaced by a regulation funeral director uniform - white shirts, black ties and black armbands - this is certainly in keeping with the ignomnious demise of most of the (very real) characters peopling their hauntingly beautiful songs of praise.
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The visual aspect is further supported by the presence of a tremendously arresting slide slow, manipulated by cornet player Ashley Dean throughout the set. Each song is a set-piece in itself and exceptionally dramatic visuals accurately portray the subject matter of the individual tunes. The set opens with drummer Simon Fogal battering out the staccato tattoo ushering in the Great Fire of London song '25 Sins', where extra percussive power is provided by guitarist Guy Bannister on an additional floor tom, and Dean's film flickers with images of fire and vintage footage of London. It's a hell of an introduction, and when David Martin's lugubriously charismatic baritone revels in the "this town is burning down" chorus line, you're swiftly hooked in.
Elsewhere, Dante-esque images of witchcraft and hanging trees accompany the cavernous darkness of recent single, 'We Go Hunting' (concerning the notorious Salem Witch Trials), a world-class chess game takes place during 'A Rook House For Bobby' (iLT's balefully glorious paean to the bizarre life of chess champ Bobby Fischer) and footage of the Antarctic wasteland and Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole are the perfect companions for the potent 'Terra Nova'.
But even without the visual element, iLiKETRAiNS are a magnificent proposition. Fogal's tom-heavy rhythms power them on from the rear; bassist Alastair Bowlis sports a vintage Rickenbacker and is the very essence of solid and Guy Bannister and David Martin's twin guitars switch from sparse and chilling to full-on sonic cathedral seemingly at will. Aside from a very fleeting nod to British Sea Power, there are few current acts who are operating in such a vast and unforgiving sonic arena, and the melancholic qualities inherent in songs such as the wonderful 'The Deception' and established classic 'Spencer Perceval' owe larger debts to the likes of The Chameleons than anyone gracing the cover of the NME these days.
A positively epic version of 'Spencer...' closes the set in breathtaking fashion tonight, with the eerie guitars initially descending on the track like fog over Highgate cemetery and gradually building to full on Kitchens of Distinction-style maelstrom over the song's ten-minute span. It's one of numerous places tonight where iLiKETRAiNS hit a plateau all their own and by the time it's wound down it's obliterated any need of an encore, such is its' emotive power.
So, despite the elatively sparse turn out, iLiKETRAiNS left us in no doubt that they are one of the most fantastic and distinctive bands doing the rounds out there and a considerable cut above the identikit haircut and cheekbone combinations currently being foisted on us by the stylemeisters. Let's hope their schedule can find time for further stops at this station despite the lack of would-be passengers tonight.
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