Liverpool Independent Venue Week: EBGBS & The Jacaranda Gigs Preview

IVW is a seven day celebration of what essentially is the life blood of music as a continuing, evolving cultural art form: the small venue. Here in Liverpool we are blessed with a variety of venues which help maintain Liverpool as an influential musical hotspot. Below is a quick round up of what to expect from two of the Liverpool venues involved.

EBGB’s

Monday 29th January
Promoter – Vinyl Junkie

Red Rum Club: Fran Doran et al bring their big big sound with devastating cinematic panache.
The Cheap Thrills: Shimmering, glacial indie pop sensibility with more hooks than a Peter Pan convention.
The Bohos: Well crafted songs with a nod to the post punk movement. Their track Monday Morning is guaranteed to blow the weekend cobs away…
Brooklin: Do You Remember the joy of laid back funky grooves and smoky blues-tinged vocals? They are here in abundance.

Tuesday 30th January
Promoter – Get Into This

Stealing Sheep: Drawing on their own eclectic musical inspirations and reference points, this is bound to be a DJ set of sonic intrigue. Heavenly.
Silent K: Dave McCabes new musical odyssey. The Instagram posts are intriguing, surely the music will top them?
Pale Rider: Touted initially by the promoter as Liverpool’s best new band, their latest track I Run The Rain offers credibility to this statement.

Wednesday 31st January
Promoter – EVOL

Bribes: Well deserved headline spot for this blue heavy rock and roll trio. If you haven’t already, check out their debut EP She Sings The Blues. Rich promise indeed.
Three From Above: NaNaNa, their debut download single, lustfully pushed the anthemic button. We were then hit by a sonic force akin to Pete Murphy’s adverts for Maxwell tapes back in the 1980’s. Powerful.
The Boston Shakers: Ever dependable scene regulars, and always guaranteed a great live performance. Purveyors of the odd “ear worm” that you can’t get out of your head, Black Magic being a very good example.

Thursday 1st February

Polar States: Bring their poetic pop sensibility to the musical table. Well crafted and energetic. Meet Me In The Morning, from their ep “Lost”, is a great example of their collective craft.

Friday 2nd February
Promoter: Spirit of Punk

Generation: Headliners who aptly sign on the dotted line with regards to their promoters raisin d’etre. One hundred mile an hour energy, to paraphrase, “we like it”.
Arno: Fast becoming a favourite with the local gig-going connoisseurs, worth checking out on their own. Their track Slow Down seems to connect the dots….
Elephant Trees: This Leeds combo open up the musical blender, lob in the like of Laura Marling and Biffy Clyro, hit the boost button and serve up intelligent compositional endeavours that satisfies the most jaded of musical palettes.

Saturday 3rd February
Promoter Vinyl Junkie

Show 1: Frank Turner – Sold Out. Too late!!
Show 2: Peach Fuzz: Apparently play to types of music – rock and roll. Like a constant ray of musical sunshine, they are just cool, cool, cool and deserve a standing ovation for naming a song “Jazz Cat”. Which, accidentally, is brilliant. Support comes from Skeleton Key stablemates The Mysterines and The Movamahs.

Sunday 4th February
Promoter: Vinyl Junkie

Big Bang Romeo: Described by NME as “searing and soulful blues tinged Rock n Roll”, the track Johannesburg and Anastasia’s voice qualifies these sentiments.
Life At The Arcade: Intelligent Indie feel good pop at its very best.
Mad Alice: Purveyors of the Pool Of Life Psyche scene, fantastic live and a lead vocalist whose very delivery and timbre just demands attention.
Noah Noah: The Edinburgh based band whose manifesto incorporates well crafted pop musings, infused with the spirit of Scotland. Well worth getting there early for.

The Jacaranda

Monday 29th January
Promoter: CMD

False Advertising: The excellent three-piece from Manchester and Oxford keep the spirit of grunge and great song-writing alive. Check out the excellent Hey You – and get the picture.
DeJa Vega: If you are a sucker for the inspirational use of the Motorik beat, fantastic guitar hooks and call to arms vocals then just look no further. Unmissable.
Spark: Great new band, with an endearing slacker attitude. Check out “Lemonade”.
Spilt: Grungey / shoe-gazery trio who describe themselves as an infusion of grunge and psychedelia. Yep. Loving
Facemelter as I write….

Tuesday 30th January
Promoter: Softlad Promotions

Strangers: Powerful and melodic Indie pop from the lads from Widnes, fast becoming the most exciting musical hotspot on Merseyside. Shout for Lucy.
Salvador Band: More youthful Indie Heaven from a young band with already some tunes. Picking Up being a case in point.
The Entire City: Their debut gig – one to remember.

Wednesday 31st January
Promoter: Mellowtone

Edgar Jones: Merseyside Musical Royalty both playing and DJing to an intimate audience. Hurry if you haven’t got a ticket. It’s going to be special.

Thursday 1st Feb
Promoter: Get Into This

Ali Horn: His second single “Bloom” was and is an uplifting psychedelic triumph, with its very own sense of Englishness. Majestic. GIT hit the bullseye yet again.

Friday 2nd Feb
Promoter: Society of Lost Losers

Salt the Snail: Fans of Black Flag won’t be put out by this lot. Wake up and smell the Co ee – literally
Bisch Nadar: Skilled purveyors of “Math Rock” with a raw edge, this trio have an armoury of tunes, Friends in particular.
Vuromantics: Tread the shadowy trail of northern dark pop – so it states in FaceBook, but I’m hearing a funky swagger, especially with the track In The Night.

Saturday 3rd February
Promoter: BidoLito

Pure Joy: Creative and inspiring, buckle up and void out to a musical ambient space odyssey. Check out the magnificent Go Galactic.
Jo Mary: “Birkenheads’s premier sleaze rock n roll merchants” or so they say. Who am I to argue? But tracks as
Wife’s Song and Spat Out hint at an underlining creativity and artistic playfulness.
The Blurred Sun Band: Mellow, psych jazz, check out their EP St Bride Expanded. Creative and interesting, its really rather good.

Steve Kinrade