Three 33 @ Joseph's Well
By WhiskasAn especially young crowd had been let out to play by their parents for this gig, and it showed in their random appreciation of their fine friends on the stage performing. "The kids" would either run around, ring-a-ring a rosy-ing and shouting widely in appreciation or just get bored and start talking to each other.
The opening band were obviously quite a bit older than the majority of the crowd, but the youngsters warmed to their standard indie/grunge manners loving the occasional cover version. The band in actual fact demonstrated they could play at various times during the gig, but overall it came across as if they all knew the songs but couldn't play them at exactly the same time. The most disappointing thing for me is that Ophidian, like the other bands tonight, managed to stand rooted to spot with fright throughout, as apposed to relishing the unusual crowd going for it up-front.
Saving Lenny, despite having the most people in, the room at the Well being half full front to middle when they went on, suffered even worse than this. I don't think any of them looked like they were enjoying the gig, except for the occasional nervous smile from the singer after each song. For a ska band, they failed to work the crowd, although the crowd didn't care and went wild, but you wonder what would've happened if any of the crazy characters from Leeds other ska bands were there to drive the crowd into a frenzy. In a town of many ska bands, Saving Lenny basically lack the character to distinguish them from a lot of the rest, although they have some good ideas and do show promise. It's the lack of killer songs, showmanship and their general poor execution that lets them down, but there's always hope.
Headliners Three 33 enter stage fresh in the knowledge that they've secured a coveted place in Futuresound where so many have failed. Their assured start is impressive but loses impact after a bit, as the songs get repetitive and the sight of a yet another band member rooted to the spot draws attention away from the whole ensemble. In a three piece, you need all the stage presence you can get, and while the singer was trying his best, it narrowly missed the mark. The odd good song was not missed, but general unprofessional-ties like un-tuned guitars weren't either. A bit more variation and a lot more balls wouldn't do this band any harm. In my humble opinion.
