Being 747 @ HiFi Club
By Tom Goodhand
Ahhh, you can't beat a bit of a shuffle in the late afternoon, and this month Mr. Rob Paul Chapman's showcase again failed to disappoint. Oli Samsa opened proceedings, but unfortunately I missed him whilst waiting around to interview Chas and Dave at the City Varieties (who were apparently running too late to be interviewed). Anyway that means that my evening was kicked off by Johnny's In The Basement. The band's Dylan-quoting name suggested a somewhat retrospective sound, and sure enough, we got an occasionally folky, often proggy and largely entertaining act. Even if the songs bit start to go on a bit.
Due to Rob's, erm, eclectic taste when picking out bands for the TTS, Xi played next. Xi are, in the words of Steve Kind, 'proper rock'. I assume that that means that the guitars chug, the drums pound away, and the bass makes that kind of clicking, distorted sound that can become a bit annoying. I assume this because this is what Xi do. The only problem, they don't do it particularly well, and only the frontman's exceptional voice (that can veer from Matt Bellamy-esque falsettos to throaty growls) saves them from becoming as turgid as the masturbatory guitar lines that keep getting spun out.
Just as you think it's gone off the boil though, London-boys Transparent Things arrive and do their take on that trendy indie garage rock thing. They all look the part (the guitarist even wears and blazer and sweatbands), and even are so bold as to sound the part. It's angular Strokesey rock that has tunes aplenty and a nice little swagger to. You see, Leeds ain't the only place that can make good bands.
That isn't to say that Leeds isn't making good bands though, take The Breech. They make that kind of noisy, yet also melodic form of pop that overtakes your eyes. 'Digging Holes' uses an excellent vocal effect and an endearingly simple guitar line and, like the rest of the band's set is hugely entertaining and overwhelming stuff, if not slightly unoriginal.
For some reason, the end of The Breech's set also becomes the end of the gig for a hefty chunk of the TTS's fanbase, which means that Being 747 emerge onto the stage in a worryingly muted fashion. The band clearly don't give a shit however. Dave still turns up with a papier-mâché plane on his head and still plays around with the air raid siren. Steve still throws out all those rock poses whilst achieving the feat of playing both the keyboards and bass at once. All three members still remember the importance of nice harmonies and a good old 'ahhhh' in the chorus. So, 'The Girl Who Fell Asleep...' opens the set, and is pure pop brilliance. It should be a hit. It won't be, but it so should be. Then there's 'DIY', surely the only rock song ever to namecheck NHS Online, 'Communist Prince', 'Target Practice', heck the whole lot. Each one is a short, fun blast of melody, clever riffs and catchy synths. The only shame is that the set ends with no 'Use Your Friends' and no 'Weathergirl', still, if a band can sound this triumphant without songs of that quality, you know they have something rather special.
