On paper, this seemed like a low-key way to celebrate the release of such a long-awaited record, but nevertheless it turned out to be a Saturday night well spent in the bohemian student quarter of Withington.
It's hard to conceive a more intimate setting than FUEL. Vegetarian cafe by day, beatnik hangout and cabaret club by night, it's tucked in amongst the assortment of unassuming pubs and continental bars and bistros that line the road beyond Rusholmes famous curry mile. The teeny venue even has it's own well-established monthly live showcase, Cloud Sounds, at which the St. Helen's eccentrics have gone down a storm on numerous occasions since both band and night were established.
Tonight was BIG WOW launch night Part One, the first instalment of a unique triple header that will see the band showcase their new record next week in Wigan, prior to the launch of their very own, brand new label FRESH HAIR RECORDS on home turf later this month.
The music kicked off with a short, sharp set from North Wales trucker heroes BONG SQUAD, who wasted no time in cranking up the feelgood factor with their grunged-out jealous-guy tales full of honey-bees full of happy-go-lucky bilberry bush sentimentality.High-gain melodies sat deep in their tunes, boding well for the group's immediate future, and tonight's renditions were met with warm and genuine applause.
Next up were ONIONS, who were also here to promote a record, looking and sounding well in the mood for celebration, prior to the release of their debut single 'I Want To Be A Dancer'(on 7“ vinyl, no less!). Their messy but melodic sound was perfectly in accordance with the evenings entertainment, and several of their tunes hit the spot as the three-piece plunged headlong into the arms of catchy 3-chord pop sensibility.
As the clock struck eleven, most of those crammed into the now jam-packed venue raised the roof with enthusiastic cheers for their faves as THE LOUNGS took to the stage.
On form and on-song, the oddball five-piece kicked off with surreal synth-fuelled BIG WOW opener 12 Hand, to deafening roars of approval that were repeated as the band reproduced the record's seamless transition by plunging straight into the lovely, hook-laden 'Annie Hall'.
As momentum gathered, 'Comet Girl' served as positive proof that there's no fluke about the band's ability to harmonise their way through another winning blend of many-tentacled pop hits. The third BIG WOW track is perhaps the defining moment, heralding as it does, the realisation that 'We Are The Champ' was no accident. The singalong/shoutalong hookline demanded and got 100% audience participation before the mayhem crescendo brought about the inevitable sudden halt.
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After a messy but memorable version of 'Mind Your Head', The Loungs shattered our (O.K. my)anorak hopes by breaking with the chronological order of BIG WOW in order to blitz their way brilliantly through the psychedelic drop-out anthem 'Sunbeat'.
But to our collective relief and inevitable delight, the sophomore album centre-piece 'Honesty Box' was next to light up the room and our hearts. The lazy tempo brought about another mass singalong that saw inhibitions shed left, right and centre.
The inevitable departure from the Big Wow tracklist was the trigger for fever-pitch adulation, as our heroes treated us to a few numbers from their debut, starting with a blistering version of the chorus-only anthem 'Armageddon Outta Here'.
Cue the heroic and irresistible show-stealer 'I'm Gonna Take Your Girl' (the opening bars were drowned by perhaps the loudest cheers of the evening), yet in spite of this, the show as a whole was evidence that in BIG WOW, The Loungs have yet another big-hitting indie long-player on their hands.
'Jack Safarti' underlined this with consummate and chaotic ease once the hysteria had subsided to acceptable levels.
One for the fans? Well, of course it was. But tonight's launch triumphantly set the ball rolling for what is sure to be another well-received/critically acclaimed long-player from the impossible-to-dislike St. Helens five.
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