A duo take the stage first at the marvellous Deaf Institute venue, a place that evokes music hall acts of yesteryear with its drapes and wall paper and somewhat Edwardian decor. The Dragon Welding keyboard/guitar and vocals lineup is simple but the musical colours they evoke is complex. There’s an undercurrent of Krautrock meets Berlin Disco then bouncing off to something more ambient and it’s all gathered together by some fine vocals that sit on top their sound and deliver hookline melody after hookline melody. These are fun and musically deep. The pair can evoke a sense of dark mystery one second and then hit up a tuneful blast of pure pop the next.
The Monochrome Set are celebrating the 40th-ish birthday of their album Lost Weekend. The post punk outfit present us with a set of their songs before a short break and then they play the album. A band who’s musical influence can be heard in the likes of the Smiths seem bright tonight. Their songs contain a slow burn majesty for sure but their take on rock n roll offers deep musical insight and a genuine feel for what makes an audience move.
It’s the dancing part of the audience that carries the night, they groove along in a happy frenzy that spreads a lovely joy out from the stage. There’s hardcore fans who know all the lyrics, we have stories from the stage that fill in extra information about various songs and it makes it all seem homely and friendly. The music though, especially for me, for whom The Monochrome Set are on the borders of my musical map, is outstanding. As someone new to much of their material their unique take on rock n roll and then their jumps head first into 60s psychedelia are outstanding. A band that have gravitas, a musical depth beyond many of their post punk peers and a thoroughly enjoyable evening of outstandingly sharp and skilful sounds.
WORDS RICHIE YATES
PHOTOS ADRIAN WHARTON
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