Sawthroat @ Royal Hotel (Morley)
By Lisa Crow
The Royal Hotel in Morley Bottoms, my local, last night saw one of its most musically intense nights to date. I went down as I usually do on a Thursday night to see the local talent and talent I saw!
I'd seen Sawthroat once before about six months ago, and to be quite honest they were nothing special; but what a difference that time has made. Last night they were not only musically fantastic, far tighter than before, but put on a show that was second to none; entertaining, funny and very energetic. The packed Royal listened intensely to their new grunge metal sound.
The band consists of three members, a red headed singer/guitarist with a strong aggressive, yet dynamic voice. He was comparable to Daniel Johns and with a hint of Cobain. His guitar playing, I must admit, was very simple but was so effective; no great leads but more than enough to carry the songs. The bass player had it off to a tee, a heavy-duty meaty sound and strong complex riffs. Bass players usually find it hard to stand out in a band, but this guy stood out - he was ace, his backing vocals worked great with the front man as well. Which only leaves the drummer. If my backbone were as strong as Sawthroat', a sledgehammer wouldn't break it! It's nice to see a drummer get so totally into his drums that he was confident, expressive and bloody loud! All the things that Sawthroat needed to finish off what is a great three-piece band!
The set consisted of a mixture of their own stuff and some classic covers done, as the front man put it, the "Sawthroat way"; in other words ripped to shreds, played twice the speed, filled with distortion and ten times more aggressive! "The Wall", "Wonderful Tonight" "Break Free", "Faith" and "Stand by Me" will never be the same.
Their material also went down very well. 1990's grunge with a new millennium twist definitely influenced by the sub-pop era but they added something that was missing back then: a little bit of humour. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, so much so they couldn't keep still. "Energetic" is an understatement, they ended the set by wrecking their gear; the front man dived over the kit taking out the drummer. Then the drummer kicked the crap out of his kit. The bass player stood back laughing and taking the piss. The owner of the pub couldn't believe it!
The atmosphere was great - the pub is known as a hard serious, tough-guy sort of place but not on this night. People were dancing, loads were singing along and a good night was had by all. They were re-booked there and then and I can assure you that everyone that was there last night will return bringing their friends to share what can only be described a "The Sawthroat Experience".
