The Wellington Kasabian,Mad Action,The Landaus Thursday 22nd July By guest Reviewer Lee Atkinson - from www.Hullscene.com.

Photograph Gallery   The Landaus Gallery 1   The Landaus Gallery 2   Mad Action Gallery 1   Mad Action Gallery 2   Kasabian Gallery 1   Kasabian Gallery 2

After a successful and highly entertaining launch party featuring Turismo, I was interested to see what Sweet-n-Sour could offer in the way of showcasing bigger, signed acts. On tonights billing, headliners Kasabian, fresh from a successful Glastonbury appearance and increasing media attention, brought in the crowds and the atmosphere was excellent as The Landaus took to the stage.

Not wanting to compare the singer in any way to Julian Casablancas, the unavoidable notion of musical assumption came to light after spying a tight fitted Ghostbusters T-shirt and an indie barnet. I have read mixed reviews about The Landaus on the local circuit but was suitably impressed when they broke into their set. There are immediate nods to new wave rock and roll, which kind of formed an outer perimeter around a range of styles including funk and hard rock. The lead vocal was excellent and some of the songs were embellished with some tidy vocal harmonies. The songs were solid and were performed with confidence, the band playing up to the large audience that had gathered.

The only problem I found with The Landaus was that I couldn't seem to reconcile some of the lead guitar work with what the rest of the band were doing. Some of the songs seemed geared toward a couple of lengthy guitar solo's, which did nothing for the actual song other than offer the audience some Darkness-esque showboating. Despite this, I would definitely recommend that you check this band out. I think if they can engineer some subtler guitar work and pen a couple more classics to add to the set then they should realise their ambitions.

I knew very little about Mad Action before the gig. In preparation for, I had a quick scan of their website found that they had associations with the acclaimed recording skills of Ian Broudie, who's other recent adventures in hifi include 'The Zutons'. I was also interested to read that members of the band have been at the helm of the BMRC's latest studio efforts.

I was impressed with what I heard too. There was a strong flavour of US Indie, with thoughtful lyrics and arrangements. Mad Action managed to hold the audience with a blend of pop melody and musical versatility delicately embracing their influences whilst exploring new pastures.

The Philadelphia outfit offered more than mere support to their tour partners, Kasabian. They were thoroughly entertaining and will be making a fresh addition to my CD collection. Kasabian entered the stage from the right hand wing from where I was standing looking like heroes..and why shouldn't they? They are riding on the back of recent media acclaim and successfully opened a day at the Glastonbury festival, no wonder on the night they were in confident spirits.

The crowd were looking for an excuse to erupt but had to wait as the first offering comprised of slow sonically euphoric keyboards, encircling drum samples and guitar, easing singer Tom Meighan onto the stage. The blend of instrumentation contained every implication of a Death in Vegas influenced, modern (and hipper) Happy Mondays.

The crowd predictably flared up as Kasabian rocket-launched into their set, Meighan's energy leading onlookers straight into his own rock & roll escape. As the arms and legs of crowd-surfers rolled over the front row of the crowd, crashing into bouncers and barriers, the Kasabian backline rolled through their set with a rude professionalism.

By the time the already classic 'Clubfoot' was announced as the last song, there was no holding back as, soaked in atmosphere, the crowd rose again for the finale. I learned prior to the gig that Kasabian released 100 copies of their first single on pressed vinyl, wrapped in a unique band flag, which suggests the forming of a movement. They are certainly capable of spearheading the charge to fame of what I would describe as more energetic, younger brother of the baggy era.

Sweet & Sour are doing good things in Hull by bringing up and coming bands who are comfortable on the big stage. It should prove to be a great chance for the local bands to get on a billing with some quality signed acts.

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Photograph Gallery   The Landaus Gallery 1   The Landaus Gallery 2   Mad Action Gallery 1   Mad Action Gallery 2   Kasabian Gallery 1   Kasabian Gallery 2

Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Mo thisisUll.com

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