5ft4 @ Rocket
By Jon CumiskeyIt makes a change tonight that the Rocket is actually packed to it's brim tonight and it only helps that the music being played is deserved of such a crowd.
We opened with FLOOZY who had a near capacity crowd to witness their set. Blue lights shone upon the band, which added to the effect of their sleek indie sound. Not Oasis style indie, but a colder more modern version beefed up with a distinct punk rock attitude. Not much communication happened with the crowd compared to the two following acts, but that's a comment not a criticism and it certainly added a level of mystique. Though this is not my thing, the band are correct in describing it as their own unique sound and this is certainly a band which a lot of people would, and did enjoy. Both melody and odd parts of blistering mayhem ensued. A well received set.
Next up were the ridiculously young EVIL LITLE SISTER. It's great to see a young band get up and doing it, which is something you don't see enough these days (hark back to the days of Duchess when you used to see loads!). The set started probably quite slowly; with a quite a lazy indie sound that was still executed quite well considering. But a transformation half way through the set saw them metamorphosis into monsters of rock. Covers of Semisonic songs gave into Iron Maiden riffs, Tom Earle gaining confidence by the second an assured front man, great musicianship. The highlight being the self penned "Its Over". Without a doubt their best set yet for the new band.
I must publicly highlight though the fact that the venue failed to dignify this band with a decent sound check apart from a quick line check just before they started...get it sorted out!
And so we moved on to the fantastic 5'4". They had me in stitches, with songs about "the feeling you get when you rub sandpaper against your willy", they took the piss out of Evil Little Sister's previous stage routine involving milky bars. Adding bits of spazzy-punk rock, through to disco routines their main bulge of material being more traditional rock stuff, with great vocals I must add which really added something. 5'4" are an excellent live band that I'd recommend seeing. They really had the crowd captured as they blazed their way through the end of the set, white noise, compromising positions, adoring crowd. Jobs a good 'un.
