Our roundup of live music that we saw in
January and February 2018
We provide links to articles for January. We will update this page for February as new pieces are published.
See also our page on music in February.
January
27th January. Resin Events held a show at Firebug with Ballsdeep, Seven Hells, I Saw The World Burn and King Leviathan. Kevin Gaughan reports with words by Martin Baker. On the same night Dig Lazarus, The Jav’lins and The Brew were at the Musician for a show promoted by Casbah. (On the same page as the above.)
13th January. We were at The Soundhouse for the SPH band contest and reported on Stone Cross, Smack Jack and Krystatic. Read our report.
February
3rd January 2018
The Shed
Tonight at the Shed: two sets of bands. One upstairs. The others, in the Vaults, were 94 Gunships, Black Cats & Magpies, Chambers and Aztec Temples.
When I arrived, a band was singing, upstairs, on the stage. I caught only the end of their performance but from that small sample, I could see they were good. I think they were The Monarchs. A three-member group, playing indie music, they were from the Midlands, where they emerged from Kettering.
The gig upstairs was organised by Scruff of the Neck, a music company based in Manchester and specialising in artist development, concert promotion, touring, festivals and record releases. The show in the Vaults was put on by I’m Not From London, as part of Independent Venue Week.
They were followed by Leicester band Alligatr. They were very good. But then, they always have been.
Photo: Keith Jobey.
The Leicester quartet has the same lead singer. Jon Doughty. Their music is bouncy, full of cheerful tunes. A band that has been going for some time (founded in June 2013.) I liked the well-constructed instrumentals. Their tunes are always a joy to listen to. They have recently been putting their music out there. We saw Alligatr in October last year, when they played at The Shed.
New recordings can be heard on the band’s Facebook profile.
The vaults brought us several acts that played in Leicester for the first time. 94 Gunships, from Nottingham, wrought together blues, indie, pop and rock to form a musical amalgam that was both vocally attractive as it was rhythmically appealing.
They were followed by another group, also very good. Black Cats & Magpies, also from Nottinghamshire, were a four-piece band whose music was full of zest and vigour. Good vocals from the lead singer. Driving rhythms fretted with golden fire and cunning instrumentals. The band’s set of alternative indie songs went down a treat.
Back upstairs, Timmas took to the stage for a set that was not lacking in powerful sounds. Duos can be as full-on as full four-piece groups. It’s all about the passion and the energy that drives their music and of that there was certainly no shortage. Timmas is an act that has established a considerable reputation for itself. They have compelling presence. I have seen them a few times before and they have always impressed. Both musicians sing. Their songs have impact and large, expensive sounds. Usually they play their own music but tonight they also put in a cover, “just for fun” but I loved it. Cher’s Believe. One of my favourite songs from 1998. They rocked it. Powerful.
Headlining the evening, in the Vaults, Aztec Temples followed up up their previous appearance there, with another amazing performance. This is a band that makes outstanding music. Music that get better and better, every time. Memorable melodies that are excellent. Another thing to note is that the band contributed music to a film, premiered recently in Leicester, that celebrated the first ten years of the drama group Urban Young Actors.
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