Raw Liverpool newcomers, indie disco swagger and a contender for band of the festival, Getintothis’ Alan O’Hare evades the odd hiccup to discover some diamonds on day one of Liverpool Sound City 2013.
It’s all too perfect. The sun is shining. The wind from the Mersey has dropped and Liverpool ONE is swarming with artists, delegates, hipsters, tricksters and Arriva jackets.
The live iPod shuffle we call Sound City is back in town and things are looking good.
Queues are big and expectations are bigger. There are some crackers on the list tonight and the excitement is tangible. That the first couple of bands on our list are rescheduled and we miss ’em matters not a jot. As we arrive at The Cavern just in time for hometown boys, The Verdict.
Same old, same old? You’d think so. But you’d be wrong. The bluster has gone and in its place is a swagger, foot-tapping beats and a way with a melody.
Speaking of melodies, next up is Louis Berry – a local lad who knows his way around a tune. Raw and real, he drips with the kind of attitude that is rife around town. But all too often goes missing amongst the ego. Not this lad. Like your favourite Noel Gallagher B-side, Berry is here to stay.
Up the hill towards the bombed out church, and we’re excited for Nadine Carina. Star of the recent GIT Award (let’s have it right: she stole the show), Nadine is tipped around town.
It’s perhaps inevitable then, this being Sound City and Liverpool, that all isn’t quite as it seems (what did we say about a live version of iTunes’ shuffle?). There’s no sign of Nadine and we’re left on Bold Street without a prayer.
Trust Leaf to come to the rescue. Looking for a Wi-Fi signal, we call in… and are met by the biggest crowd of the night: it’s All We Are and they sound ace on the Getintothis Stage. A packed room, grooves that hit the spot and some great tunes: what more do you want?
Band of the night.
All We Are showed their class on the Getintothis Stage at Leaf
Taking it all in, we hover at Leaf as the masses leave and witness that other Sound City inevitability: the group you’ve never heard of who blow your mind… tonight, it’s Deep Sea Arcade, with an organ and electric guitar frequencies straight out of, say, 1994. Indie disco? The girls dancing down the front believe it – and after three tunes of early Charlatans-esque swirls and swagger, we’re with them.
The Kill Van Kulls – beefy, meaty and a bit loud
The night’s closing in, people are getting tired (hey, there’s two more days you know) and we’re battling fatigue for Kill Van Kulls at Studio 2.
They’re loud. Beefy. And, well, loud. Ho hum, it’s time for bed. – and all I can see, as I walk up a packed Seel Street, is more Arriva jackets. Time to get off the bus. Night all…
Photography by Getintothis’ Matt Owen and Matt Thomas.
