Music tech night review

Not my best review but it's ok.

Music Tech night presents…

Beware wolf, Soul Burn, Paper Plane, The Mcques.

Huddersfield Student Union

 It’s 9:00pm which seems late for a gig. With 4 bands on the bill tonight it is not likely to end till midnight but that isn’t stopping people staying to see their favourite bands play. There is a good turn out tonight and about half an hour after being seated the DJ Dale Johnson introduces the first band.

By the time Beware wolf arrive Huddersfield SU is more or less full. The 3 piece alternative band dive straight into their first song. The rhythm is in sync and vocals are clear. After a few songs the singer announces their drummer is in fact standing in for the usual drummer who couldn’t make it. The music is almost Biffy Clyro influenced with the amount of pauses and heavy riffs being used. The band show true talent, in fact if they hadn’t have mentioned they had a stand in drummer I don’t think anyone in the audience would have known.

Soul Burn seem to take it in turns to play slow and fast songs. Two guitars dominate the mere 30 minute set. The use of pedal effects and broken chords creates a chilled out atmosphere and the use of breakdowns grabs audience attention. The band work well together as the slow melodic melodies build up to great crescendos towards the last few songs. Unfortunately it’s hard to hear the singer’s lyrics over the volume of the instruments.

Although they’re not the headliners Paper Plane is probably the most anticipated band on the Bill tonight. The 3 piece rock band are the battle of the bands 2012 runners up and have a lot to live up to. Vocalist Jack Bennet hasn’t lost his touch, vocals are perfection and all 3 seem lost in the music. They are the first band to interact with the audience properly taking some time out between songs.  The set is led by heavy chords, varied tempos and use of instrumental breakdowns. They play harder, faster and louder than the other bands so far. The strobe lights seem to appear whenever they feel like it, mistake or not it definitely boosts the atmosphere in the room. Many guitar spins, screaming vocals and air jumps later they bring the set to an end. ‘’And in the end, I’ll build a time machine,’’ is a worthy finish bringing an orchestral backing track to the finale. It doesn’t look hard for them to be able to follow up their 2011 album ‘Draw your own holes.’

It must be hard to finish off the night as the main headliners. However, The Mcques seem to be pulling it off. The bass takes the prominent lead creating an upbeat, bouncy rhythm. Half way into the 3^rd song they take the risk mixing an old 90’s dance song with one of their own but it works well. They play almost stiff like throughout the set but it’s uncertain whether that’s a trademark or if they’re just not used to bigger crowds. By no fault of their own, half way through people are looking tired and start to head home. Although they play well together it’s clear they have only been together for a year, not that the music is bad but there is minimal interaction with the audience. The Mcques play a simple set with not much lighting but it ends the night on a high.