25/4/2007 Feetgazer @ Dingwalls

Subject	Feetgazer @ Dingwalls
PostedDate	4/25/2007
	Another unusual gig for me, but and interesting and enjoyable one all the same. As some of you know, I sometimes get accused of only going to see girl fronted bands - well at this one all the girls were in the crowd. In fact the crowd for the main band I went to see was 95% female. Still, I don't have a problem with that.  James Murray was on first apparently, but I missed him and arrived while the Trial were playing. They seemed fairly generic indie rock and not very memorable. Feetgazer were on next and seemed to be the main attraction at this sold out night at Dingwalls. This was the band's first 'proper' show after the low key warm-up gig at the Purple Turtle a couple of months ago to test the new lineup. That was a good show, but this was better on all levels. The band seemed tighter and more polished - more of a unit than the last time. Frontman Richie Wermerling's loyal fanbase from his earlier 'pop' days were out in force to support him and were determined to have a good time. This isn't a 'pop group' though - this is definitely a rock band. There are no keyboards players or backing singers to fill out the sound - it's all guitars, bass, and drums. If the songs are good then you don't need anything else - and these songs are certainly good enough to stand up for themselves. The songs on Ritchie's MySpace are basically just simple acoustic demos and sound very different when played live with Feetgazer. Can you spot the flying plectrum? Bassist Laney74 rocks it up for all he's worth - the rest of the band have their work cut out to keep up with this guy as he plays every gig with whatever band he's with as if he's onstage at Wembley playing to thousands. In fact, if you go and see any band with Laney74 on bass you know you are going to see a ROCK show - top value for money and well worth going to see. This was the most ROCK photo of the night - and by complete coincidence my camera decided to name this picture #3666  It will be interesting to see if this band can expand on their existing fanbase and broaden their appeal at their future shows. Unfortunately, the remaining acts this evening were less entertaining. The Oracle were on next, and musically they were actually rather good - although their whole thing seemed based almost entirely on Oasis and they seemed the least original band of the night. That said, they sounded good and seemed to have some catchy songs - but like the band they seem to try so hard to emulate, they are somewhat lacking in charisma and stage presence.  Last band were the Lightyears. They had put more work into their image than most the other bands tonight with their old 'Fusilier' style tunics and pop star hair, but unfortunately they seemed to have spent rather less time on the actual music and sounded rather a mess. Try spending more time rehearsing and less time looking in the mirror if you want to give up those day jobs lads...