GIG REVIEW: LIFE/ AVALANCHE PARTY/ MODEL LIFE @ CAFE INDIE (8.4.17)

Before we begin, I’d like to let you know: every article I have ever written has only come to be here due to an underlying passion that inspires me to do it. As a platform for young people, the inheritors of a culture that we, alone, have the ability to contribute to, I have always felt the importance of writing about something that everyone should know about to ensure that it continues to evolve and transgress limitations. For this particular piece, I would emphasise that this is secret better spoiled. This might just be the best thing I’ve let you into.

THE VENUE

I’m going to take you to my hometown. We don’t need to take any motorways; we don’t need to dig out crumpled banknotes from our pockets for the train or a taxi – you don’t even need to queue out the door in the cold huddled with strangers, and surge into the venue waiting hours in an ill-ventilated room for the band to emerge. In Scunthorpe, there’s a place called Café Indie, and we don’t need any of that.

As I was making my way, on this particular night, I could tell it was a gig night: young men with floral shirts, ripped jeans, and hair your dad would say needed a cut were walking the streets. These weren’t fans – this was Avalanche Party, one of the bands playing that night. You wouldn’t see this at the O2 Academy, would you? There’s something fantastic about this lack of divide between fans and the bands; there was a sense of nonchalance in that they could both coexist without the need for a security barrier or separation. Scunthorpe, being the small town that it is, affords that.

Café Indie is the best kept secret in North Lincolnshire, yet to me - and certainly to everyone in Scunthorpe - it is the jewel in its crown and the epicentre of our local culture. An office supply shop conversion, decked out with shabby chic, mismatching furniture and young people’s artwork lining the walls, this is a hive for an alternative community of artists, writers, photographers and musicians.

In attendance that night in the crowd were key players in the Scunthorpe music game: the frontmen from both The Claxbys and The Last Hearts. There is a sense of community among these artists, in that local bands support each other’s performances. Once again, there was something rare in the unspoiled way that music could be enjoyed without the negative entrapments of fame putting these bands on a pedestal from the fans.

On this night, it was a phenomenal line-up: the sort of line-up that’s a diamond in the rough that you have to seize the chance to see. It was the final date of LIFE’s April tour (if they sound familiar, it’s because they are. If you want a refresher check out my previously article on them), with the distinction of having both Model Life and Avalanche Party as the supporting acts.

I’m going to give you a blow-by-blow review about why it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to, and why you should have been there.

MODEL LIFE

Opening the night was Model Life. I concede that I’m probably biased towards this band for two particular reasons: the first is that they are a fresh, Scunthorpe-grown four-piece who are already making their mark having only been formed for a handful of months; the second is that the frontman, Alex, wears the most spectacular floral shirts.

In the 45-minute set, under the array of lime and lilac lights, it managed to showcase the rich, infectiously dark lyricism and vocals of the band, as well as the instrumentals that had an edge which was strikingly reminiscent of post-punk. This is balanced with a sound imbued with the long-adored, characteristic jangle of indie pop hailing from the 80s, which tempers the band’s spectrum of styles.

Their performance was spotless. Despite the fact that the band is still in its infancy, their musical sophistry and stage presence said otherwise. It was a fantastic way to kick off the night. For a band of this talent to come from somewhere as overlooked as Scunthorpe representing us, I have great hope for the emerging scene.

If this has piqued your interest, and you’re a big supporter like myself of upcoming bands, whet your palette with their first single: Sugar. You can find this on Spotify and add it your playlist right now. If any song on their set demonstrates my review, it’s going to be Sugar. I promise, it’s infectious.

AVALANCHE PARTY

Avalanche Party were worlds away from Model Life: when they entered the stage the crowd could taste a whole different style and sound. This five-piece hailing from the rugged, spartan landscape of the North Yorkshire Moors plunged the crowd into a feral performance: like an untamed beast with its sharp teeth bore, snarling and spitting, their sound is unrestrained and vicious. Through a cacophony of deafeningly intense instrumentals that had the crowd surging forwards, and vocals harsh enough to complement the ferocity, they were incredible.

What was particularly commendable about this band was the way they commanded the audience. With lead vocalist Jordan Bell’s steely, dark, and penetrative stare that fixed unflinchingly onto the crowd, it gave Avalanche Party’s reputation as an aggressive, powerful band even more credence.

The way they chose to present themselves on stage, with Bell’s red silk shirt falling apart at the seams and each individual member with their own distinct image and presence, made the set memorable for the crowd.

If you like the sound of Avalanche Party, I would thoroughly recommend you listen to their eponymous EP and their most recent single, Solid Gold, on Spotify. If you like your music that bites, then this is for you.

LIFE

Each supporting act was an aperitif for the headlining band: LIFE. Our appetite had been roused and the air was now charged delirium – this was the band everyone came to see. I have sang the praises many times of the Hull, City of Culture-hailing band in my previous article. My friend and I went to see Slaves at the O2 Academy Sheffield, and supporting them were LIFE. Their performance, style of music and stage presence had an indelible effect on us both – we leapt at the chance to see them at Café Indie, in our hometown.

The security barrier was gone. There was nothing keeping them from us. The hundreds of people from Sheffield had gone: all that remained was a handful of people. It was the most intimate performance I had ever been to. No divisions.

LIFE were all there: each politically-packed, adrenalin-pumped song that made us all fall in love with them in the first place. It was as if the crowd was electrified. From frontman Mez’s iconic, nonchalant, drowsy introductions to each song on the setlist (“sometimes, I go to clubs… and I get totally… totally… totally of my face and listen to… popular music); to the whole crowd holding their hands in the air during In Your Hands, a caustic, indignantly ironic song that our future is completely beyond our control, they dominated the stage.

Perhaps the greatest moment of all was when Mez jumped down into the
crowd and performed among us, dancing with the audience. “That’s better”, he said – it really was. LIFE have always had a sense of familiarity about them that doesn’t estrange them from the crowd: unlike other bands, they aren’t on a different plane of existence to the rest of us. They understand what we understand, and see what we see. That element of their work is what makes them so intoxicating.

If you too have fallen in love with LIFE, their debut album, Popular Music, is going to be released May 26^th. They made it all by themselves.

The night was everything you could hope for from a triptych of high-octane bands. Be a part of the music community and support them.



Also I'd like to personally thank Alex Popescu for allowing me to use her fantastic photography from the night. All credit for the images goes to her.