| The
Basement @ Liverpool Academy |
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| The
Zutons |
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The
Basement supported by The Zutons
Liverpool Academy 3 12/05/03
Words: Dave Adair |
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"Bin
a long time coming, did no-one know about it?"
Were The Zutons talking about the emergence of great local Liverpool
band scene with their first words of the night? Tonight would see
if the five piece psychedelic Scouse band were ready to step up and
add to the strength in depth of current Liverpool bands like The Coral,
The Bandits and The Crescent. There was certainly a buzz around the
venue before they came on, which grew immensely as soon as the Saxophone
introduced opener "Long Time Coming" as the crowd joined
front man Dave McCabe swaying from side to side like slalom skiers.
The cheers just kept getting louder as the songs progressed. The new
single: 'Creeping and Crawling' showcased all the bands talents with
Dave's Skelly like vocals, slow and catchy guitar riffs and dark lyrics:
" Creepin and a crawling cos my back is broken"
The band certainly enjoyed returning to their home city, as they rose
to the occasion. Finally, they infected audience with " Zuton
Fever", before taking a collective bow and leaving the crowd
shouting for more.
Were the Basement with their Dylan thing going on about to be blinded
by the spotlight, as they come out of The Coral's shadow for the first
time? This was the inevitable question that went through the mind
as the John Mullin led band took to the stage. The opening song "Jack
Shepard" might have been about a misunderstood bloke, but by
every time you tried to decipher the lyrics you found yourself lost
in sheer catchiness of the bouncy guitar riffs, as there was more
foot tapping going on than at a Riverdance show.
In line with recent trends The Basement demonstrated their retro inclinations
with raw guitar riffs and several old style two minute songs like
"The Devil Tonight" and "Slain The Truth". The
lyrics when they can be made out are pure and idealistic at times,
as demonstrated in the best song of the set 'New Years Blue':
" I want my Baby white, this new years blue"
Late on in the set saw the only two released songs get an airing "
Medicine Day" and "Stuck on The Streets (at minus ten)",
which went down very well. The last song the catchy "In The Rain"
ended a really promising set from the likeable young Irishman. The
short nature of some of the songs meant that the set only lasted for
35 minutes, with an unusually early finish of 21:55. This was a promising
set, and they finished in time to have a couple of pints of Guiness.
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