Bands/artists featured below: Groucho, Cazals, Tricky Nixon, The Lummoxes, Waxplanet, The Children, Polytechnic, sandbox, Free Repeater, 3rd Dan, The Exports, The Nightjars, The Deadbeats (more reviews still to come - all photos by Andy Stubbs) Groucho (8pm, The Roadhouse) Boasting a big beefy sound for a three piece, Groucho's singer had a fat rock voice that belted out some anthemic indie choruses. Yet despite an adept performance, there was something lacking. A little more courage and visible conviction in what they do will set them well on their way. (Michelle Adamson) Cazals (8pm, Academy)
 | | Tricky Nixon (8.40pm, Night and Day) |
Tight-trousered, lazer-lipped Cazals are a tough-edged relief in the current poseur-populated indie scene. Having been pushed down the bill by the petulant singer of another band tonight, they swallowed their pride and unleashed a solid thunder of Jam-style anthemia with reckless abound. Rising above the incessant "Babyshambles, Babyshambles" football chant of the musically-challenged contingent of the audience, they battled on with a fine, speaker-clambering, crowd-goading show. Why half of the crowd bothered to push to the front of the stage, I'll never understand, but those who let their hands do the talking should have been nothing less then impressed. (Carol Hodge) Tricky Nixon (8.40pm, Night and Day) First sonic impressions of Tricky Nixon make you think of a harmonious Pixies, particularly when front pairing Ritz and Rhydian do their best impressions of Kim Deal and Black Francis vocal duels. That said, there’s originality aplenty (and more than a dash of Grohl-esque riffage) rocking through their melodies to take them away from that solid beginning and with a dark image and tunes to match, they have the potential to go far. (Chris Long) The Lummoxes (8.50pm, The Roadhouse)
 | | The Children (9.30pm, Night and Day) |
The perfect antidote to the navel-gazing self absorption infecting many bands, The Lummoxes were a joyously salacious breath of fresh air. Their snappy little odes, including infectious singalong lines like; "I like to bath when I smell", and "Check out my Catsuit" (a homage to the singer's marvellous slashed-to-the-waist spangly one piece) were delivered with hilarious aplomb by a band with oodles of comedic talent. Pure unadultered fun. (MA) Waxplanet (9.30pm, Joshua Brooks) Openers Waxplanet packed the crowded basement with plenty of retro punch. But while instrumentally, they seemed to know where they were going, the fact that this was only their 4th gig to date showed through, with the vocals being just that little bit too rough around the edges. (Zannnah Ingraham) The Children (9.30pm, Night and Day)
 | | 3rd Dan (10.20pm, Night and Day) |
The Children began like an unholy offspring of late Small Faces and ‘Love Street’ era Doors and could have been something special had they continued in that vein. Sadly, they didn’t. Instead, they moved quickly into a pseudo sub-Coral bunch of forced nonsense and carnival oddness that felt at best strained and at worst affected. A trip back to the drawing board and a re-evaluation of those original influences is desperately required. (CL) Polytechnic (9.30pm, Waldorf Hotel) After overcoming the technical inconvenience of an exploded bass amp speaker, tousle-haired Polytechnic injected a syrupy sweet pacifier into the tiring crowd. With the lush falsetto tones of singer Dylan leading the way, the Polytechnic brand of lo-fi plucky jangles is as addictive as a bucketful of brightly-coloured candy hearts. Bright, light and with just enough rock to keep my attention, their set would have been better had it been more short-lived, but this is a mild gripe on an otherwise glowing performance. (CH) sandbox (10pm, The Roadhouse)
 | | Vincent Vincent + the Villains (11.15pm, N+D) |
Sandbox's perky mash-up of Garbage-style power pop and rock attitude are an instant attention grabber and with frontwoman Lennie at the helm, there's no escaping their clutches. They step in and out of genres with consummate ease and have such an obvious enjoyment in what they do that's it difficult not to drawn in to their quirky little world. (Michelle Adamson) Free Repeater (10.15pm, Joshua Brooks) When a band opens with bass and drums this heavy, they can’t fail to make an impression. Bold and daring from the start, you get the feeling that Free Repeater are not afraid to follow their own sound. Unpretentious and musically imaginative, they’re definitely ones to watch out for. (ZI) 3rd Dan (10.20pm, Night and Day)
 | | Omerta (Midnight, Night and Day) |
Close your eyes for a moment and you’d think you were listening to Hundred Reasons Is For Heroes, so half-breed is 3rd Dan’s sound. Even the addition of a weedy keyboard didn’t lift their tunes out of the category of same-old, and while they undoubtedly have the energy required for such music, the obvious lashings of angst and unsurprising big drums mean that they only produced formulas, not futures. (CL) The Exports (11.00pm, Joshua Brooks) Taking it at breakneck speed from the start, The Exports flew through their set with running punch. Yet, while they may have their rocky style down to a tee, it somehow seemed all too predictable in the end and even the statutory quota of crowd surfing from Pierre Hall couldn’t lift a set which was ultimately nothing to write home about. (ZI) The Nightjars (11pm, Waldorf Hotel) Manchester newbies Nightjars had a challenging spot at the top of Save Yourself's bill, a mission handled maturely by Ollie Wright and co. Their intelligent musicians’ rock created a varied and interesting set, with tempo changes and clumps of light and dark tones ensuring there was never a dull moment. What The Nightjars lack in stage presence, they make up for in sound, but it won't be long before the two factions are well and truly nailed together, creating an unstoppable mediocrity-crushing monster of a band. (CH) The Deadbeats (Midnight, Joshua Brooks) Oozing countrified charm, the Deadbeats took to stage like a band who know they’re going somewhere. Lacing their very own brand of hillbilly rock with distinctive harmonies, they were the out and out professionals of the night, though even their infectious enthusiasm couldn’t detract from a rushed sound set up and a few technical glitches which failed to do them justice. (ZI) | 
