Friday 23rd January 2015
Midcity and Alligatr
The Cookie
by Keith Jobey
There are some gigs you just don’t want to miss. There may be a whisper, an inkling, dare I say a murmur, that something special is about to happen. So despite an impressive array of bands in various venues across Leicester
on the same night, I knew I’d end up at The Cookie to watch Midcity perform their first headline gig.
Looking at the facebook event, 109 people were attending and 27 maybes. I’m told there were nearly 140 people there. That’s about the same number of likes Midcity have on their facebook page! Most of the 140 attendees are young, and they’ve filled the newly re-done basement venue long before the support band take to the stage.
Alligatr is the support band for the night. I can’t help thinking I’ve seen them before but with a different name. I discover later that guitarist Jack also plays with Royal Arcade. Maybe that’s it. They play a fast-paced indie guitar style with a hint of The Smiths about it. Covers of The Libertines, The Strokes and Kasabian are played alongside songs from their recent EP. There are smiles and laughter on stage, the band are relaxed and enjoying themselves which is good to see, and by the end the crowd are moshing. They just need to replace some of covers in their set with more of their own material.
Midcity are four local teenage lads, Will (vocals/guitar), Finn (bass), George (drums) and Charlie (guitar). They have come a long way in a year. Under the previous guise of Murmur, they were one of those bands who were worth watching to see how they would develop. And develop they did. Their Grody EP was one of the
finest releases of last year. An EP that certainly made me sit up and pay attention to them. An EP that showed they were ready to be heard, had moved on, had matured. Hence the excitement about tonight. Right from the start of their set the crowd is active and it’s not long before a circle has formed around the chaotic moshing and body-slamming. The papier-mache Grody head the band have brought doesn’t stand a chance and is soon reduced to a shredded mess. It’s the wildest crowd I’ve seen in The Cookie. Meanwhile on the stage the band is loving it. They’re full of life and youthful energy and playing their biggest gig to date.
The set draws to an end with two tracks from their debut EP, the excellent She Writes In White Ink and Grody. As Grody comes to a close Finn urges everyone to get low, and as the last bars kick in both he and Will launch themselves into the sweating mass of bodies, swiftly followed by the drummer George.
Video footage from the night of Grody
I leave with the riffs of Grody repeating in my head, knowing that I’ve just witnessed something special. We’ve covered them a few times previously, when they were known as Murmur. Looking at those early reviews we pointed them out as a band to keep an eye on. That’s all changed. Now they’re a band not to miss.
Grody is available for free download
See also:
Bloodshed, our report on the all-dayer at The Shed
