Butterfinger @ Rocket
By Dave Sugden
Opening up the evening, Diawara impressed me on two counts. Firstly they proved they were a decent little rock outfit, competent musicians and overall, sounded very good. Secondly, they allowed me to play 'spot the cover version' with Take That and Hendrix following "Tainted Love" as I entered the building. Usually I object to bands doing a lot of covers, but it didn't affect me at all tonight. An original, "French Song", closed the set off in a punk rock style. The future could be good for these guys, they're only young and when they eventually work the covers out of the set it will be interesting to see how their self-penned material stands up.
Next up were Brody, who also impressed me - though others expressed doubts. A very good heavy (intense) rock band that compare well to their signed peers; an improvement on their former bands too, I'm told, in that they've simplified their music and removed the self-indulgencies which complicated previous sounds. If you want a musical comparison, try listening to the Kerrang channel for a few hours... that's where Brody would live.
Finally were tonight's headliners Butterfinger, from Bradford I believe. Although I'd heard good things of this three-piece beforehand, I wasn't that struck with their brand of hefty rock, big riffs and all that, and left after two songs. I returned just as they closed with the 150-strong audience cheering and clapping like their lives depended on it... it appears Butterfinger were very good after I left.
