Three exceptionally promising young Geordie bands stormed the Grove, Newcastle, on Thursday night. Central Arcade, Idle Hands and Porcelain each brought their own blend of styles to conquer the crowds assembled.
Central Arcade
The brilliant Central Arcade kicked things off. With a clear nod to 90s guitar bands, they put on a superb set of infectious tracks to get the building crowds warmed up.
This was yet another example of the importance of getting down to see the support bands when you can. I was thoroughly impressed by these guys throughout their set. Frontman Conal certainly gave them an edgy cool vibe with brilliant presence and vocal delivery. I was somewhat reminded of heroic Fontaines frontman, Grian Chatten, which was no surprise given his part Irish heritage.
Musically there were elements of the Fontaines vibe, but also lead guitar licks that evoked 90s British alternative rock bands. Some awesome thumping rhythms from their drummer to give each track real impact.
Really enjoyed chatting to Conal after their set. He’s definitely a guy with his finger on the pulse of the current wave of guitar bands. His big recommendations of seeing Cardinals and Wunderhorse live are notedy.
The guys have a recent EP release called Matter on all streaming platforms.
Idle Hands
Next up was the awesome set Idle Hands. Full of thunderous energy they ripped through each track with real passion, enjoying the brilliant atmosphere of one of Newcastle’s best current local venues.
These lads are definitely getting heavier and more raucous with a sound that creates the menacing danger of bands like Black Sabbath, alongside the intensity of The Murder Capital. Though with a dress sense that evokes 90s cool. Bullets is such a big track early in the set. It was delivered with explosive vigour with Evan absolutely pulverising the drum skins in a rhythmic tour de force. Bass and guitar also crunch hard with the incendiary noise needed as Joe provides the call to arms humanitarian lyric against violence and hate.
Idle Hands are a band absolutely committed to their craft with tremendous sound scapes provided in each track. See It Big really builds with Jude’s delicious post-punk guitar sounds, and Harrison’s cool bass stabs. Silent is a haunting classic which was released as their recent single. Joe did have some banter with the crowds between tracks juxtaposing his daily job in hospitality with his evenings as rock star.
I always love the excitement of these boys when they are debuting new music. The best track of the set came towards the end in the form of new track, Overtime. Again it’s a song that really builds with a heavy bass line and cool intense guitar groove into a full throttle anthem. Evan absolutely joyous letting rip on the kit.
Catch Idle Hands next at Liminal Sound Weekend next month.
Porcelain
Headliners Porcelain also created a real splash with their hour long showcasing some impressive anthemic tunes and showing massive potential as a future sound of the NE.
This was my first opportunity to see these guys. They are a band with a lot of heart and an already accomplished vibrant alternative rock sound. Frontman Curtis has the look of a young Richard Ashcroft: one of the best songs of the set, a new track called Half-Truths, seemed to have a clear nod to bands like The Verve. And others certainly seemed steeped in the best of that 90s ethereal guitar heritage, but with a modern sheen.
Among other highlights of the set were the anthemic Hearsay, and The Opportunist. These tracks demonstrated a range in styles and tempos for the band. From more acoustic guitar led anthem to harsher rock sound. Some tracks also featured Curtis on keys.
All four musicians played brilliantly throughout. Really impressive to hear the instrumental section of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain blasting through at one point with that amazing bass line. Special mention also to Adam on drums for a superb little solo towards the end of one of the tracks.
Also good to hear these guys giving heartfelt thanks on a number of occasions for both amazing support bands, Idle Hands and Central Arcade. A night of a real mixture of guitar based styles that demonstrated the Newcastle scene is really buzzing with talent.
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