The first band to play were West Midlands pop rockers Swim Deep. Frontman Austin was armed with an odd-shaped tambourine and belting out the lyrics; on bass is Cavan (who's unique haircut sums up how different the band are) who calmly strolled through the set without error; other guitarist Higgy sported a moody look, with his Kurt Cobain-esque hair covering his face and ripped jeans, and just like his band mates failed to slip up; and finally one of the greatest things about this performance was the drumming of Zach which was quite something which added more of a grunge sound to their pretty sedated music. They announced that their new song Honey was going to be played and was received quite well, but King City is their best. Starting with a bassline similar to The Vaccines' single All In White, it soon turned into a favourite for many of the neutral fans in the crowd and charming them with their awkward humour. They should be pleased with the performance overall, as they were well liked by the fans. We even managed a picture with part-time lead vocalist, part-time tambourine enthusiast, Austin (as shown above). Meanwhile, the boys from Spector stood in the crowd and watched their support acts.The second support act were Splashh (Yes appropriately put beside Swim Deep), a four-piece grunge rock band from London. Although they were not as lovable as Swim Deep, they were musically better than their fellow support act last night. The brilliant named singer Toto Vivian had a raw sound in his voice, especially on their song Need It. Joking that they were playing a new song called "Spector" as his bandmates laughed along, they finished on a cracking note. I had to point out that bass guitarist Thomas Beal, looking like he put together a bad Freddie Krueger Halloween costume with his stripy T-shirt and black hat, was a lot more lively and moved about more than the boys from Swim Deep and had some notable moments, as did guitarist Sasha Carlson and drummer Jacob Moore, who played their part in making their performance well worthy of the round of applause that they received. It was now time for Spector.
Screams from girls echoed the venue, men were roaring with applause, and Fred, Jed, Chris, Tom and Danny took to the stage. After a minute of charming the crowd, frontman Fred McPherson led the band into a thunderous rendition of Friday Night, Don't Ever Let It End before calming it down slightly with their poppy love song Twenty Nothing. By now, all eyes were on Fred and his quirky moments, such as his witty humour, the fixing of his spectacles, taking photos on his Blackberry and from time to time, combing his perfect comb-over back into position. The tempo yet again slowed down with their well-known synth-pop tune Grey Shirt and Tie sending the crowd into a mellow state as they happily swayed to the keyboard from Jed Cullen. Then came what Fred quoted "The song that made us". Yes that's right - What You Wanted. The bass played by Tom Shickle and the synth again by Jed stood out a lot here as Fred's vocals were giving a bit of a break as those around him took care of the song. Guitarist Chris Burman then teased the audience with a little riff from one of their tracks before Fred boldly proclaims "We'll see who has really bought our album" as their album opener True Love (For Now) was belted out from all sides of the stage making the crowd go crazy. Fred then confessed that the next song was emotional and he could remember it being wrote on a Thursday night. It was the album's slow song Lay Low. Almost ballad-like, the whole crowd were singing along waving their arms in the air. Then there's a pause. Then Fred announces he's got a text message to the amusement of the crowd. After a couple of awkward seconds he erupts into song with a triumphant sound winning over all the doubters. Fan favourite Celestine created mosh pits and had the audience jumping around like lunatics screaming "Keep the past in the past and notice me tonight". Fred yet again interacts with the crowd asking who's ever been in love and following up with "Who's ever been heartbroken?" which the crowd cheer in agreement. He then goes on to tell Glasgow about how this song had been wrote after he was fed up of watching Jeremy Kyle on weekdays and drinking endless ciders. He later reveals that this is the first time they play No Adventure live, yet it sounds tremendous. Grim Reefer keeps the fans singing before Fred teases the crowd again by asking "What begins with "Che?" and starts singing the chorus to hit Chevy Thunder with the fans. This is the best received song of the night as the crowd begins to go wild, with arms flying in all directions and now-hoarse voices. As they walk off stage the crowd start to sing "You know I'll never fade away" repeatedly asking for an encore for the song Never Fade Away. When the band come back on and play the ultimate track on their album, Enjoy It While It Lasts the crowd romantically join in to end a perfect ending to a night where Fred says,
"I want you to do two things for me. 1. Put up your left hand. 2. Put up your left hand. Now bring them together until they make a sound and do it at the same time as me through this next song" before joking, "This will be the safest clap you'll get tonight".
Overall, it was a fantastic night full of jokes, banter, interaction and most important, great music. One of the best gigs I've attended.
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