Liverpool Music Week 4

Kasabian brought LMW to a mammoth close last night and so ends almost three weeks of some great (and some not so great) live music.

On the positive side, this final week was the best time to discover new local bands. The Loud are an un-swaggering rock ‘n’ roll trio from the Wirral. They’re The Coral with a distortion pedal. However, there’s no room for a jangly Scouse pastiche; they’d sooner split your ears open with their monster-sized riffs.

If Green Day have taught us anything it’s that late 30-something men are still allowed to play teen punk rock, something that Down & Outs know very well, and it’s really quite joyous to see. Puzzle are a much calmer lot. They’re in the Teenage Fanclub territory of playing simple, yet heartfelt indie pop. They coyly played to an appreciative audience but did not prepare anyone for what was to come after it. The Bendal Interlude come out shouting, kicking and screaming like they’re trying to make trouble for their babysitter. The stage is plunged into near darkness for their show of screech-heavy metal. It’s not awful, just something you wouldn’t put on before Dananananaykroyd who are simply brilliant live. The songs are phenomenal and their crowd interaction is unparalleled, if you’re into hugging complete strangers, that is.

Cosmo Jarvis is pretty handy with a guitar, even if his lyrics are a little simplistic, something symptomatic of a songwriter that’s so engrossed in popular culture. ‘Sort Yourself Out’ gives a mention of Googling for free porn, which on its own may sound hilarious, but given that the song also mentions sitting in a room full of cups of urine because the singer can’t be bothered to get up to use the toilet, it actually comes off as quite unsettling.

It’s been a long ‘week’ but it’s one that has overall, been fantastic. The amount of artists willing to play for free is astounding. Long may it continue. Next week, rest.

Mike Doherty