Altsounds - Twisted Wheel [Live] @ 02 Academy, Liverpool

Mother’s Mess
On the same day that many people gathered around the O2 Academy in Liverpool for the sold-out concert of the Courteneers, the venue also presented four other indie rock bands, a little less famous and a little less sold-out, on the small stage. The first band was called Mother’s Mess, a four piece band whose first song turned out to be a great introduction to the rest of the show; mostly because every song sounded like the first one. Drums on TGV speed, heavy bass, loud guitars and a singer who didn’t try to hide the fact that he couldn’t reach the higher notes, that’s all there was to say about it.

The audience didn’t try to hide their non-enthusiasm neither; out of the 15 people who took the trouble to switch from the bar stools to the front of the stage only 6 of them seemed really please with their decision. The sextet made very clear what’s so special about Mother’s Mess: nothing. Not a single song was better than its predecessor, probably because they all sounded the same. And neither the musicians nor the singer showed any sign of extraordinary musical talent. The band may be a great outlet for its members, it’s certainly not brilliant entertainment. Not yet. At this stadium they’re just a typical example of a band too big for the garage and too small for a venue.

Stormy Corners
Second on the bill was Stormy Corners, a five piece band fronted by two singers who really seemed to enjoy their own presence. Fran Healy (Travis) and Baldrick (Blackadder), as was written in my notebook by absence of their real names(research showed that their names were much more serious; namely Lunti and Simpkin) acted the way soul legends like Wilson Pickett and Sam & Dave used to do; they jumped, moved and danced as if all the toilets in town had been out of order for over a week. And it worked quite well. The audience seemed to enjoy the attempts of turning the house down.

Although arguable, the best description of their music most likely is ‘melodic songs custom made for the dance floor’. One couldn’t call it really original though. The average riffspotter recognized riff of the Kinks (Sunny Afternoon), 3 Doors Down (Kryptonite) and Oasis (Wonderwall, the ‘and all the lights…’ part). Nevertheless, or maybe because of that, Stormy Corners turned the audience on. And though the idea of two singers didn’t make much sense – let’s face it, they were not exactly Simon and Garfunkel (they were Healy and Baldrick), it might have helped to better the party.

Stormy Corners may not be the Worlds Most Original Band Ever, it was good fun to watch. And with a great, great lead guitarist who hardly had a chance to show his brilliancy, the band might me a promise for the future as well.

Shanty Town
Third act Shanty Town also turned out to be very popular, despite being a support act of a support act (Twisted Wheel has shared the bill with Oasis for example). From the first chord on the audience threw their arms and beers into the air – they didn’t seem to really need their drinks anymore anyway – and it was a good impression of the fuzz they created. Funnily enough, their music was a combination of band no. 1 (the simple instrumentation) and band no. 2 (the catchy melodies) and they attracted the audience of both, plus many more. The singer, blessed with a great voice, was supported by an enthusiastic backing band and together they made the people feel like dancing and jumping, the way Healy and Baldrick showed them before. Shanty Town won’t be hyped as ‘the new Beatles’ – and how many can say that? – but they’ve got a lot of potential.

Twisted Wheel
By the time headliner Twisted Wheel drove onto the stage, the audience was so ecstatic that they were screaming as if they witnessed a clog dancing chicken. From the start on the combination of loud guitars and the ‘less is more’ attitude of the musicians was a reason for a big cheering after every song. At least, part of the audience thought it was. The reception of the audience was in fact quite symbolic. The youngsters on the front rows went completely psycho; they sang along with every word, threw even more beers to the direction of the ceiling and there were many successful crowd-surfing attempts by enthusiastic fans. The elderly on the back didn’t seem to care that much though. No cheering, dancing, clapping or chicken-clog-dancing could be reported from over there. And maybe there was a reason for it as well. Although Twisted Wheel showed that they do have a lot of potential indeed - especially when playing the slower and more melodic songs a great talent of songwriting filtered through – they just tried too hard to be the Noisest Working Band in Show Business. That might have been the reason that more and more people tried to find their way to the beer supply when Twisted Wheel was on stage. And it was certainly the reason that not everyone was as ecstatic as the people on the front rows. Twisted Wheel could become a huge band though, as long as they don’t try too hard to sound like everybody else.

Photo credit: Amy Best