Proudly Presenting the Bands of Imperial College...
Whilst the inebriated masses of people gathered in Da Vinci’s on Tuesday 4th March awaiting the results of the sabbatical elections, another group were in dB’s for a very different reason - another band night at college.
This year has seen a lot of well-organised college bands performing their sets to IC audiences. After two ‘Abandon’ nights, Tuesday’s gigs were a relatively low-key affair, but again allowed both new and more established bands to showcase at least some of their talents.
The proceedings were kicked off by ‘Funk & Disorderly’, now almost regulars at IC. Their set-up was as impressive as ever and they played with the easy confidence you’d normally associate with jazz-funk bands that have been going for years. As well as very-well played instrumentals, they employed a singer on a few tracks to give dB’s the ultimate jazz-cafe feel. The band members clearly enjoyed themselves and the audience were equally supportive.
Next on were ‘Anasazi’ who provided a change of direction and headed for a rock/pop crossover. Influenced by the likes of The Pixies, Steve Vai and Muddy Waters, they, like ‘Funk & Disorderly’ before them, brimmed with confidence which manifested itself in them playing a very tight set. Their drummer, James, and bassist, Gareth, provided an extremely cohesive rhythm section for guitarist Mat and singer Akash to play over and this was particularly evident whilst doing their Vai cover, in which Mat acquitted himself expertly. Performing a mixture of covers and their own material, it was difficult to ascertain their complete style. Their own songs insisted on being dark and hard rock, whilst their covers were of songs like Day Tripper by the Beatles and The Riverboat Song by Ocean Colour Scene. Confusing, but certainly not unpleasant.
Arriving next were the ‘Selfish Jeans’. They cite their influences as ranging from The Cult to The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and there are clear similarities. Take the bassist, Martin. During the tuning up just before their set, he played some of the most amazing bass this reviewer has ever heard - a Flea in the making? Absolutely. They were excellent to watch and their songs, written by the lead guitarist, Andreas, were all of an energetic hard rock variety perhaps even verging onto metal at points. Again, this was a well-played set and had enough going on without sounding messy. Definitely one to watch out for at future gigs.
A band night wouldn’t be a band night at college without ‘Fold’. Up until a few months ago, Jon Jansen, Jocelyn Graham and Steve Barrington had almost taken up a residency at the Union playing many a night and even appearing on last year’s Phoenix demo tape. At one point last year, you couldn’t turn your head in the walkway without seeing a poster with the Fold logo - a bastardised version of the BBC corporate identity. So where have they been for so long? It seems as though they were practising away with their new drummer, Derek Hirst.
Their brand of, as they put it, techno/dance/indie is refreshing. The addition of samples to their rock-indie tracks provides a subtle combination that works surprisingly well. There is always a danger that the samples might take over and so the band would become a cheesy rock outfit that relied on pre-recorded tapes to do shows, but that description would be very far off the mark as far as Fold are concerned. Suffice to say, the main sound is with guitars, bass and drums - the programmed parts are a great supplement, providing fills and background without impinging on anything themselves.
The performance is a polished affair that contains good performances from all of the band without the ‘oh god, I might as well listen to a record’ feeling. Expectations are naturally high for those that have seen Fold before, but this doesn’t mean that there is pretentiousness in the air. On more than one occasion, singer Jocelyn has to answer questions as to who they are from people in the crowd. This is no distraction from the music as the audience applaud raucously at the end of each track. Their best patch comes around their best song, Idol, which uses a sample of an error message on a BT telephone. This, together with its almost punk middle section, is an energetic number and is followed by Ruthless, a stomping rock track which more than lives up to its name. There’s even a nod to the late eighties with their cover of the Bangles’, Walk like an Egyptian, which they raced through with an immense amount of glee. Then it’s the bassist, Jon’s, turn to assist with vocals on Do You Want Some Funk, a fast-paced rock-out.
The overall result of the night is to show that there is indeed a lot of potential at college. Creativity as well as talent is present is vast amounts and it is very well used. The only problem with the whole night was that the length of each set was a tad too short, especially for Fold - a half-hour slot just didn’t do them justice. Petty grievances aside, though, this was an extremely enjoyable night and hopefully will be one of many to come showcasing college bands. If last year’s Phoenix tape is anything to go by, there are a lot more bands out there lurking in various departments (‘Keopathy’ where are you?!) and so the potential for some good band nights are huge. And all of you out there, get down to one before the bands become too big to play for free.
Alo
