Live Review - Club Smith, The Maybes, Colonel Mustard, Cozy Flashback (Cellars at Eastney)

Previously published on mintsouth.com in Apr 2009
Words - Suzy Sims
Editor - Rob Ball
(c) mintsouth

CLUB SMITH, THE MAYBES, COLONEL MUSTARD, COZY FLASHBAK @ THE CELLARS AT EASTNEY 04/04/2009

Norwich Union became Aviva, Marathon became Snickers. Prince became something which was generally pronounced as a swearword by confused people. The Hair have opted for a more sensible route and have chosen to be called Club Smith - but more on them in a moment.

First onstage were the very lively Cozy Flashbak, heavily influenced by both Mod and Madchester and with guitar riffs lolloping along. There’s also a fair amount of psychedelic swagger to their cheeky set.

Second on were Colonel Mustard. In the venue… with the drumsticks. My eye was caught by the exceptionally talented bassist and his nimble playing skills, but generally the band spend longer staring at the floor than making eye contact with the audience. A cover of ‘Come Together’ is enjoyable but adds nothing to the original apart from an increased number of people who have played it. Still, they have a number of good, almost Eighties guitar twirls, an enjoyably mischievous slant and the vocalist has a belting voice.

Next onstage are The Maybes, acting as a fantastic beacon for their local scene. Like many bands from Liverpool-way, they play intense psychedelic anthems with vocal harmonies swirling above the pounding music. Their final track, Promises, is a belter; an epic dance instrumental which echoes dramatically around the Cellars, bringing the doorman in to gape at what’s taking place. It’s the sort of track which is a perfectly indulgent one-off experience, but accidentally put it on a car cassette and a few spools later you will be clawing at the tape, lost in an experimental jam void. Sounding experienced, professional and with many a dark dance track, The Maybes appear ideally placed to perform some sort of indie soundtrack.

Club Smith are headlining tonight’s show. They were here a few months ago in their former guise of The Hair, a premier indie-dance band from Leeds in the Sunshine Underground mold. The name change is so new even their equipment still features the old logos. As something of a fan I was worried the name change would equal a major change of direction but happily not. Old songs mixed with new in a frenetic set which culminated in everyone playing the drums. The band are bright and sparky with a colourfully dizzy turn to their songs. Don’t let the name Club Smith fool you into thinking they’re plain, because they certainly aren’t.

http://www.myspace.com/cozyflashbakuk http://www.myspace.com/thelastlaughtheband
http://www.myspace.com/themaybesliverpool
http://www.myspace.com/joinclubsmith