The night should have started out reasonably tame with the acoustic country stylings of the self confessed “American Werewolf in London,” Miss Kat Kiley, but despite the gentle tunes with hard-hitting lyrics, Kat (and the crowd) were treated to an energetic, well-deserved load of hooting and hollering after every tune she played.
A truly talented, humble new artist who seemed to almost blush with every applause and so much emotion in her songwriting. Country fans should be on the lookout for her. We were given a loud outro too with her cover of Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days” which hyped the crowd ready for the absolute madness of lads known as A.R.T.
“ARE WE READY?!” Cried through a megaphone by the outstanding Alfie Clayton, who is an incredibly engaging showman, to a cacophony of screaming and applause, the A.R.T lads are known for having such an electric presence. Their clear intent is to have everyone involved, no one sitting down and everyone dancing.
“BLANKET JACKSON EVERYBODY” we love a good saxophone solo around here and they have such energy that even if you didn’t know any of the songs, you’ll be jumping up and down with excitement regardless. After their Glastonbury audition of last year, it’s an honest to goodness treat to see them live.
Of course, everyone was significantly hyped by the time The infamous Deniros took to the stage, making it feel like a rowdy prohibition party. A secret gem of community and friendship set to their particular blend of rock and soul and by Jove do they nail it incredibly. A packed-out room of over a hundred strong and you wouldn’t have found a single person not dancing. With an on-the-spot jam with the tune “Rockin The Troubadour” that no one will ever hear again and the corking treat that brought Catch The Funk to the stage, Alfie was invited back up for one final song that is only ever played live.
The Deniros & A.R.T shows are never entirely predictable (bar the legendary Stix telling his dad joke before Kings & Queens) and that’s what’s so fun about them
Last but not least, “your new favourite boy band” Purple Fly had put out their single that very same day at midnight so this was the show that was their launch. They like some organised chaos and audience participation these guys and by this point, in the night everyone was engaged and buzzed that it had brought a certain magic to the air. As well as being a sold-out night, the style of the boys by the end insight some rowder people to kick off a mosh pit that included the entire room.
All in all a magical experience and for fans of having a right good knees up on a Friday, it was a brilliant quadruple bill and each band was so excited for the last. If you can catch all of them on the same bill again, I’d highly recommend it
