Vib Gyor @ The Vine
By Gavin Miller
Salivating over the artists on show tonight, I was going to come here tonight regardless of whether I was reviewing the show or not.
Let's not beat around the bush - all three bands on tonight were excellent, but excellent for different reasons. The diversity in tonight's bill is as amazing as the bands themselves, so when the tall, skinny figure of Benjamin Wetherill takes to the stage, I'm excited.
Much like his CD I received earlier on in the year, he runs through a set comprised of Leonard Cohen-esque bleak soundscapes, through to 1930s jazz and then onto George Formby covers. His first of the night 'Noughts And Crosses' harks back to the days of yore when all young couples wanted to do was play tic tac toe, instead of going out to get hammered on cheap alcopops. It's deliciously sophisticated, causally brilliant and so lovingly understated, it would make anyone want to go and buy a trilby hat and smoke a pipe.
With a song named after a line in one of Oscar Wilde's poems, a cover of 'You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You' (which he heard from "a Nat King Cole tape") and a rendition of an old English folk song, Benjamin Wetherill is here to take you to an otherwise forgotten musical era.
Maybe born a few generations too late, but in the modern musical climate, it's so refreshing to hear something as slick as this. He's a hidden gem in the Leeds music scene, but I hope he doesn't remain hidden for long.
Ormondroyd (named after ex-Bradford city player Ian perhaps?) are an altogether different kettle of fish. Comprising of about nine people, the band create a music akin to Mogwai's stark instrumentals, yet with vocals and a clarinet (!) it builds and it builds, before erupting into a haze of guitars and noise. Although Mogwai they ain't, they still carve up quite a musical feast.
It's only in the last song that we actually hear the violin that the kind lady has been playing all night, so when it eventually does get an airing, the string sound gives the song a lot more depth and quality.
Switching from downbeat melancholia to upbeat anthems with alarming ease, Ormondroyd slip through genres with grace and dynamism. Maybe a bit too quiet for a bit there, but this band are one to watch.
Then Vib Gyor hit the stage, and I don't know what to say. There's no two ways about it- these guys are absolutely brilliant. I'm left speechless, watching a band crusade triumphantly through uplifting, anthemic rock songs. I know they must get this a lot, but it's like the most melodic bits of 'OK Computer' mixed with catchy hooks, rocking guitars and a voice so angelic yet so ferocious, it's like Jeff Buckley's illegitimate bastard child.
Every song is a gem; every high note faultless and every pound of the drum is bang on. At the risk of sounding like a hype machine, I'm going to go on the record and say that they're probably the best band around in Leeds at the moment. Consistent, achingly melodic and at times reaching the dizzy heights that only certain bands can reach, Vib Gyor are simply amazing.
It's no wonder that the band received full marks for their CD on LMS a few months back, because if this show is anything to go by, then surely they must be close to that $20m, 5 album deal with Warners?! I know I'd sign 'em.
I'll leave it at that, because I've run out of superlatives to type into my computer without reaching for my thesaurus.
All three on tonight's bill should be checked out if you have the slightest interest in music at all. For £4 it ain't half bad.
(VIB GYOR)
