4/4/2006 Plan A @ the Purple Turtle (again)

Subject	Plan A @ the Purple Turtle (again)
PostedDate	4/4/2006 2:26:00 PM
	Another good night at the Purple Turtle. First band on were and indie outfit called (I think) Motel Hero. They totally failed to distinguish themselves in any way - Motel Zero would have been a better name. They just sounded a bit of a mess and didn't have any songs which stood out at all. Expect to hear them on Xfm in six months... Next up were Hey Gravity - another band I'd never heard of. I was informed by Steve M who was there taking pictures that they were previously known as MASS - who I had heard of. Although I'd never seen them live I'd been impressed by the songs of theirs I'd heard on the radio. Steve assured me they were great live - and he was right! The guitars were indie rock in style - but sounded far harder and more aggressive than normally found in that style of music - no shoegazing here! Apparently, there has been a line-up change in the band after a guitarist left - now replaced by a hot rock chick guitarist in the style of Charlotte Hatherly. This girl can play too! Normally, I think Fender Telecasters sound a bit lightweight - even in pairs - apart from Status Quo when they used to ROCK once upon a time. However, this band make Telecasters sound mean - and without resorting to stacks of amplifiers either. The other guitarist reminded me at times of ex-Doctor Feelgood man Wilko Johnson in sound and style at times - always a good thing! Probably the most remarkable feature of this band is Justine the singer - a performer of rare stage presence and charisma. I say 'stage presence', but she took to the bar at one point and made her way at least half way along the top of it - something I haven't seen a singer do so far at this venue. But then AntiProduct haven't played there yet! This is a band who really mean it. Hey Gravity is a rubbish name though.  Another band who really mean it are Plan A - always great value for money with their punk attitude and catchy tunes. Singer/guitarist Jef is a cheeky chappie who obviously learnt a lot in his time with the Wildhearts and has put it to good use - he knows if you haven't got a catchy chorus you haven't got a good song. Bassist Nick has quite a mean and moody stage presence as he stalks the boards - and he seems to have a cigarette roadie as well! Meanwhile at the back we have something rather rare - a drummer with charisma! As well as being a pretty good drummer he is also fun to watch - in fact it's wise to keep an eye on him anyway to avoid the chance of being hit by one of the many stray drumsticks that fly though the air. One of these wayward projectiles found it's way back to him between songs and bounced off his head! Plan A were loads of fun as always! The headline band were Innercity Pirates - another name that was new to me. They were indie of a more rocking than usual variety and a lot better than the first band on tonight's bill. I wasn't as impressed with them as their fans seemed to be, but they certainly seemed to have potential. They had a fair number of people to see them for an unknown band, but the impression I got was that they had people there to see them because they have lots of friends rather than because they are a great band. That said, they certainly weren't bad and I wouldn't be surprised if next time I see them they have improved noticably... Beer at reasonable prices, some friends (hello Miles, Kate, Naomi, and Steve) and four bands for around a fiver (two of whom were very good) equals a pretty good night out midweek.  Shame on all those people who go "Oh no - I can't go out on a school night!"  Their loss....