Phluid @ Mixing Tin
By Andy James
Interesting ways to sort out your band's musical direction number 341 - take the Kaiser Chiefs' sharp approach to indie-pop, add a dash of razorblade guitar riffs, some Stooges style onstage hyperactivity, stick a rocket up its jacksy and enjoy. Meet the Dirty Dreamers if you will. Suffice to say this is a promising band who may well be higher up the bill at this place in the coming months.
It's Vicious Cabaret who draw the biggest crowd of the three bands on tonight and it's good to see them still coming on in leaps and bounds. The dark Mary Chain style gloom-rock of old is still there but it's been revved up quite considerably in the last twelve months and sounds all the better for it on new songs such as "Don't Look Down". Add to this a clinically tight rhythm section and frontman Steve's habit of not so much singing as spitting the lyrics venomously into your face and things are definitely looking good for this lot.
The crowd's sadly dispersed a bit by the time Phluid hit the stage but those who left missed an excellent set as these Leeds glam-rockers play a ferociously fired-up brand of riff-heavy sleaze metal which sounds like Faster Pussycat on a caffeine overdose. It's definitely very refreshing to see a Leeds rock group with some proper stage presence rather than the dull un-ambitious emo mewlers who've crept into the city's music scene in recent years. Keep an eye out for this lot, I know I certainly will be.
