NME/Carling tour 2001
feat. JJ72, Amen, Alfie & Star Sailor
Four bands, one packed venue, and a bill which could define this years "
scene"....that scene being an "anti scene"...no real common thread between
each of the four bands....and maybe that's where this countries at. Enough
analysing! First up are "STARSAILOR", who are the new darlings of the muzak
press.....Can they survive the hype? Tonight, they certainly seem worthy
of all those column inches....tight as a nut, strong songs, lifted by a
beautiful vocal, reminiscent of Mike Scott. The instrumentation commands
the attention of the over-25's; if they had a second guitarist, they'd be
indie....but the keys add that "muso" slant which will certainly appeal to
a potentially huge audience....like a less derivative Gomez with a more
mass appealing vocal.
Next up are ALFIE.They have a singer who styles himself on Tim Burgess, and
a band who seem to aspire to be a school orchestra....to cut the crap, they
are the Charlatans without the sound, OR any hint of the songs....yes,
they really are THAT bad.…needless to say, the crowd love em!
Rock is back, and so to spearhead this alarming thought are AMEN. They pour
onto the stage, and the NU-ROCK Kids lunge forwards to mosh to, what could
be ANY songless metal band that's currently treading the boards. Still, the
kids don't remember Napalm Death, so to them, AMEN are probably the
medicine to soothe their puberty - ridden lives....AMEN , were almost
good....if only their tongue was in their cheek.
The public get what the public (school kids) want. JJ72. Take one good
looking angel-voiced singer/guitarist, one sultry female bassist, one
pretty boy drummer, and a "teach yourself guitar" book, and you are left
with this band. Nothing to moan about, really....they are the classic
"quiet/loud/quiet" indie band.....musically unambitious....but they "do the
job", in the same way that Aldi's baked beans "fill you up ", and my
cousin's Skoda "get's her from A to B "....JJ72 are functional, and until
Radiohead's new album's out, everyone seems happy to push the JJ's higher up
the chart with every single release.
Last year's NME / Carling tour had Coldplay bottom of the bill....this year
Starsailor take the same place….this time next year, the world will all be
saying " Hello (Star)Sailor".
John Meredith
