 | | Brakes (photo: Andy Stubbs) |
After an uncharacteristically quiet start to the night, the band hybrid that is Brakes (one part British Sea Power, one part The Tenderfoot, two parts Electric Soft Parade) showed exactly what they're made of with the insanely catchy pulse of new single All Night Disco Party. While they may not be much to behold, what Brakes may lack in stature they certainly make up for in unadulterated punch. Dirge rock swells into country, punk spikes past pop, and seven second songs sit side by side with more traditional rock-outs. With the likes of Pick Up The Phone, Heard about Your Band and the Jesus and Mary Chain cover, Sometimes Always, cutting dryly through the set, there can be no doubt that the most impressive thing about this act is the incredible wit and skill which punctuates their music.
 | | Buck 65 (photo: Andy Stubbs) |
Shifting gear as he took to the stage with his very own brand of metronome rap, it soon became clear that when it comes to Buck 65, what you see is what you get. Yes, just one guy, a set of decks and an occasional interruption from his sexy French-speaking sidekick is more than enough to keep you utterly mesmerised. Combining a devilishly experimental way with words with the best atmospheric samples, this one man band weaves his merry web of tales with nothing less than sheer drama. If Buck 65 had been born in the era of the freak show, he would have been the ringmaster. His ability to dominate the stage is uncanny and if it turned out this guy had supernatural powers, you wouldn’t be surprised. Whether his deliciously freaky form of rap will be picked up by a larger audience only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, this wicked and weird wordsmith managed to keep this small Night and Day sized army of fans well and truly hypnotised. | 
