poppedmusic

This Feeling: Big in 2020

Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, 25 January 2020

Words and Photos by Gary Lambert

There’s a certain level of grassroots bonhomie expected at all This Feeling shows as bands muck in, cheer each other on, and generally enjoy being young and playing gigs.  Whilst the Big in 2020 shows are a step up from your average Friday night basement party, walking into The Brudenell car park and seeing members of headliners The Lathums throwing an American football to each other instantly showed that the vibe was not lost at the event.  And Big in 2020 gigs are definitely events.  The rooms might be on the lower end of the medium scale, but the sense of anticipation, excitement and energy was palpable.  Even I was super excited for it in order to catch Popped Music’s latest interviewees, The Mysterines

Londoners Gold Beach were the first act to take to the stage, and I was pleasantly surprised by their funky, indie-disco.  According to their singer when he asked if anybody liked disco music, Gold Beach are not disco music.  I would disagree with that.  With twanging baselines creating a foundation for joyous jangling guitar making me dance, I would say they were Nile Rodgers playing a solo levels of disco.  They are obviously a talented group of musicians too considering their finale saw their singer-guitarist take over on the bass whilst the bassist took over on drums in order to free up the drummer to occupy the role of vocalist.

The second act, Serotones, were a lot closer to the traditional idea of a British indie band.  They came across as well rehearsed, smart, likeable and polite – and the musical ghost of John Squire dances all over the guitar playing which can never be a bad thing.  In fact, the only negative for me was how polite and nice the guys seemed on stage.  I think it would push them forward if they offered a bit more urgency as they will face audiences which are far less supportive than this Saturday night crowd.  There is definitely something in their balanced sound which will garner fans across the country.

Within the next few weeks, Andrew Cushin releases his debut track, and then things are going to change for the young lad from Newcastle quickly.  We have all seen lots of his particular musical trope, northern English singer with an acoustic guitar, but I have never seen one so early in their career control a room like this.  The start of the connection was obviously Andrew’s friendly, everyman persona on stage.  He spoke about nerves, release dates, and the fear of soiling himself en route to the gig with the same confident yet empathetic style.  His song craft was immaculate, delicate, and heartfelt.  There was no future rousing singalong hit in his thirty minutes, instead with every word he sang every member of the audience listened to him and shared their love and soul.  It was quite beautiful.  Considering it was a Saturday night and alcohol was flowing, it was only during his final song that I heard anybody chattering, and they were quickly shushed.  After the show, social media was awash with people talking about Andrew Cushin and rightly so.

The variety of acts on show definitely made the Big in 2020 gig feel like a festival, but The Feens were the first band to provide that big festival sound which summer exists for in the eyes and ears of music fans.  The contrast between the intimate feel of the previous set boosted the sound further.  Of all the bands on show through the night The Feens I felt missed an opportunity to grab new followers.  Partly due to the misfortune of having to play one song without guitar and ultimately cut the set short, but also there was not the intensity I would expect from a band with such a big, crowd-pleasing sound.  It came across as a band focused on the sound to the detriment of the show.

Intensity was overflowing when The Mysterines took Leeds apart.  The temperature rose a few degrees, people edged closer to the stage, and generally things felt a bit Helms Deep as we waited for the three piece to step into the spotlight.  And betcha by golly wow they took to that limelight like it was water in the desert.  The band were tight, emotional, roaring, and looked like they were having the best fun on earth whilst doing so.  Hearing people older than me even screaming along to the likes of Take Control and Bet Your Pretty Face with all the gusto of someone Lia and George’s own age discovering the first band they’ve fallen in love with showed how The Mysterines already belong to everybody.

The Lathums were tasked with following up that set as headliner, and they did that with gusto – and to be fair the crowd matched them every inch of the way.  From the singalong to The Housemartins’ version of Caravan of Love that prepared the room for their arrival, to the last notes of Artificial Screens, it felt like this was a festival show.  The Lathums are not quite the band for me, I prefer the scuzz and beautiful musical violence of the previous act, but after seeing this show I understand why so many people love The Lathums.  There are so many musical touchstones in their work that it feels instantly comfortable to the listener (Dire Straits, The Smiths, Courteeners all came to mind at different points in the show), but as none of those inspirations are overplayed songs like Villainous Victorian (which I do love because I’m a sucker for alliteration as well as a good tune) don’t sound retro or derivative.  But I did adore the tight, sharp guitar work which underpins every song they play, it’s a great sound in its own right, and works perfectly within the tight, impressive setup of the band.  The Lathums have a massive, massive future as so many people will enjoy their music (everybody in the room seemed to know the words to brand new release Fight On despite it only being one day old), but hopefully not all of their gigs will involve chants of Lancashire and Yorkshire in the crowd.  After all, it’s rock n roll, not Blackpool rock and sausage roll.
It seemed off kilter to be getting into my car rather than a sleeping bag in a tent at the end of Big in 2020, but I’m sure the bands on this line up will be hitting many, many festivals over this year and beyond.