Due to the queuing for tickets I missed most of the first band. From what I did hear, The needless were alright. The threesome were wearing suits, but the outfits didn’t match their sound. They were clearly trying to look like a cohesive band but it just wasn't working. The original songs they played were pretty standard indie rock songs and they performed a good Arctic Monkeys cover but there wasn't anything that particularly defined them, no stand out features of their music or aesthetic.
The second band on stage were called The Space. To me everything they played sounded the same, there wasn't enough variation between their songs as the drummer played the same rhythm through nearly every single song they played bar one or two. The most interesting and stand out part of their music was the lead guitarists solos, he easily played smooth and well written guitar riffs through every song which gave them some of the variation they so desperately craved. The last song The Space performed was their best by far, I would name song name but to be honest I had absolutely no idea what the vocalist was saying both during and in between songs, the drummer played a heavier drum rhythm which actually changed up between the verse and chorus. The band looked more comfortable performing this track and I seemed stronger than the rest of their set, the song had more rhythm and gave a stronger sense of the bands sound. Overall the group needed to be a bit tighter and confidant in themselves individually, being able to connect and vibe with each other on stage to bring the audience more into the performance is something that would've improved their set.
'The Pines' were the third act of the evenings line up, the band bought a strong energy from the get go coming on stage and immediately talking to the audience with confidence asking everyone how they are, bringing the audience into their set before we had even heard them play. Their genre is best described as brit rock/british invasion with heavier guitar solos and heavy drums. They all looked comfortable and confident and it was obvious they were enjoying themselves. 'The Pines' had amazing stage presence and there was a strong focus on the instrumental as well as lyric. The passion was oozing from the front man as he jumped to and from the mic while slamming his guitar and dancing along to his music. The second song finished on a lovely instrumental guitar as the band announced ‘to be honest this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played’, I was surprised as I couldn’t tell with how well they held the stage. They are all clearly talented musicians individually and once put together their talent is pushed into well written songs and energised live performances. In between songs they held good conversation with the audience, after each song saying thank you and checking everyone’s ok. The fourth song sounded straight out of the sixties and even after only a couple of chords I was excited to hear how the song would delvelop. The strong 60’s bass rhythm was impossible not to bop to and fiercely reminded me of The Beatles sound, very upbeat and happy which continued throughout the song, The fifth song included nice scratchy vocals which showed a really nice variation in their music,. I got a strong throwback to the old Arctic Monkeys album from the sixth song which was added to by the strong british vocal and higher pitched guitar with fast pace drum fills. My boyfriend said he got more of a kasabian vibe, early 2000’s indie vibe from the entire band which I could vouch for, but I think these guys are better than Kasiabian.The only thought I had was to maybe throw one or two slower acoustic songs in there to add contrast within their set even though a couple of their songs did have slower parts, they always built back up pretty quickly. The entire set included very catchy up beat songs that were easy to dance to. They were a very strong, clean and tight band over all with well written music and some interesting guitar solos and instrumental parts under well written and sing a long lyrics.
'Window Weather' looked very professional, their set up included two laptops, two sample pads, two keyboards, one drum pad plus two cymbals. Between the three of them they created a synth pop set made up of ambient vocal harmonies. The cymbals sound super pretty mixed with the drum pad and the synth combination created a chill atmosphere which contrasted well with the rest of the acts from the night. The audience moved right forward to listen to them once they started and swayed along whilst they played. The first and second song contained beautiful harmonies which were made possible by using a harmoniser keyboard on the background vocals which added heaps ambience to the song. I describe these songs together as they sounded the same and I did originally think they were one song with just a small break in the middle. The set was very passionate vocally but I couldn't help but feel like it needed a full drum kit on top of the electric samples, the songs sounded good and clean but there was something missing. The samples would sound lovely and relaxing on a recording but for a live performance the music needs to be adapted to sound good in the new environment. The third song featured a cool shaker over strong, deep electric keyboard tone giving a darker vibe to the track but got repetitive as the song went on. I was distracted from the main vocal as he was off to the side of the stage, the guy triggering the samples standing in the middle, I wasn't sure why he wasn't the main focus as I would've said he needs to be in the middle. Maybe this was because of technical set up and I'm just being easily distracted. Throughout the performance. found myself wondering why there was so much to their set up, from the amount of tech on stage it didn't seem like there was that much in their music, the band didn't seem to get too into the music as they were focusing so hard on the technology, they created a barrier of expensive music gear between them and the audience. The drum pad gives endless possibilities, especially when plugged into a laptop yet this guy is using seemingly the same 3 samples in every song. To encapsulate the performance it sounded nice but after a couple songs it just got repetitive and felt like it needed a change. The music was pretty, but to me there needs to be more to music then it sounding 'nice'.
'Echo beach!' The headliners came on to a massive cheer from the audience. They started playing a walk on track for their lead singer and bassist who entered and faced the drummer whilst she started to play. I'm not sure if this was for dramatic effect or what but for me it closed her off from the audience, almost projecting a sense of her importance. The first song showed off the musical talents in the band, strong vocals, confident well written guitar solos and immense amounts of stage presence. Halfway through the song there was a contrasting dropout of instruments before going back into the chorus where the vocalist impresses with some super cool riot girl inspired shouty vocals. The third song, 'this is breaking my heart' was funkier and featured a strong rhythm guitar with the classic 'indie' chorus effect. The vocalist again brought her strong attitude, almost acting out her lyrics with her facial expressions which added so much character to the song, grooving along to the dance solos encouraging the audience members to do the same. Obviously with band being made up of three lads and one girl there is going to be references made to Wolf Alice but here I reference the sound, influences such as Wolf Alice and Black Honey are unmistakable within their tracks solidifying the indie rock genre of their music. Halfway through their set, Echo Beach! play a cover of Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend, the best part of this cover was how much fun the band was having whilst playing it, the vocalist was having a blast dancing round the stage shouting into the microphone as the crown shouted along, at the end of the song there was a drum solo that seamlessly transitioned the song into another cover, this time they played Amsterdam by Nothing But Thieves. Both covers were well rehearsed and well chosen songs to get the audience up and dancing. Then they played 'Juggernaut' which didn't do too much for me, it felt as if it was missing something that I can't quite lay my finger on, as soon as it started building up it finished. It was no where near bad, it just didn't seem as polished or passionate as the rest of their set. Their final song 'she' started with a lovely smooth chord progression then adds a super funky bass and lead guitar. I recognised this song instantly from their Spotify, the audience did too and were singing at the top of their voice. This is the song where the band looks the most comfortable and at home on the stage, it has an infectiously catchy rhythm and fun character to it which just makes you want to dance. The set was impressive and strong on everyones part, there wasn't anything to complain about which is different for me. I really enjoyed watching their set and it was definitely worth waiting in the rain for and I will for sure be going to see them again soon.
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