GIG NUMBER THIRTY-SEVEN
Who
The set was varied, starting with indie songs distinguished by great guitars, before progressing into pop music as it should be. The song There's A Silence seemed familiar and another one or two really stood out. Most notable though were the full-on rave-like bits, featuring strobe lighting and white noise. They also gave us a techno/vocoder take on Can't Get You Out Of My Head, which was funny and worked quite well. They apologised for it afterwards but there was really no need! There's not that much else I can say about this one: they had some memorable songs, impressive rock-outs, and were varied enough to appeal to pretty much everyone. Good solid fun, albeit not spectacular.
Mark: 7.0/10
The Electric Soft Parade
Support
Hoggboy
Where
Manchester Hop And Grape
When
26th February 2002
Price
£6.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the back
Comments
2001 was quite possibly the worst year for new music in recent memory, with Gorillaz being the best debutants: albeit as a very successful by-product of Blur! However, with The Hives and now this, 2002 was already shaping up to be a good year for new acts! After being played a few songs by Nick, it was clear this band were better than most and that what initially sounds like straightforward indie has something more exciting going for it. So I purchased the ticket and came along to the venue just in time to see Hoggboy who summed up all that was bad about 2001: they sounded like The Strokes! Thankfully they eventually finished and The Electric Soft Parade came on. The band are basically two brothers who swap instruments, initially alternating between drums and vocals, then between vocals and guitar, and a few more guys. Either way round, they were impressive. There was also a pleasant-enough backdrop to make the stage look interesting.
