(Pic: Dear Eskiimo)
In The City 2004 - Various Venues - 17.9.04

Look at all the great bands of the past 20 years. The Smiths, Take That, Nirvana, Oasis, Spice Girls, The Darkness and Franz Ferdinand. They all have one thing in common and it's the fact that they kicked against the prevailing musical trends of the day. It's that very reason that the next big band to break through in Britain won't be a substandard version of The Libertines or McFly, but a band like Dear Eskiimo who have just come out of nowhere and tonight opening up ITC have probably one of the most successful international labels of the past 2 years eager to sign them. As soon as Katie, Jules and Simon hit stage it's clear the only thing missing is a badly scripted intro by Spastic Deeley and a crowd of inane whooping special needs kids bussed in from Devon for the day. Since we saw the band last they've exaggerated everything that makes the band great. The beats are punishing and hit you round the head, Jules' guitar sounds that little bit more folky and Katie unbelievably looks even more girlie. "Patience", "Don't Wanna Feel", "Joe" and the set closer "Jack & Jill" are the songs that most bands would give their right arm for. I'll give it 12 months before these guys are one of the biggest bands in the country.

(Pic: Dear Eskiimo)

A few scheduling problems later and still high from the Dear Eskiimo experience we end up at the Night & Day for Club Fandango featuring The Deers and Lisa Brown. With a queue half way round the building the choice between being attacked by a rabied drunken man from nearby Gullivers or facing the sweltering heat of N&D isn't great, but we take our chances with the heat in the name of two of the most talked about bands of the past few months. Canadian band The Deers arrive late due to a pile-up on the M6, which left many delegates turning back for the comfort of the big smoke, and hence didn't have time for a soundcheck which may explain why they sound so average. Partly influenced by The Smiths and Nick Cave with slight hints of the Flaming Lips the problem is they just don't move you to hate them or love them. When the power fails and the lights are lost they simply flounder and shrivel back like wall flowers unable to win over the crowd with a couple of acoustic numbers. After a storming session for Steve Lamacq earlier in the week it's safe to say that this show lost them a fair share of fans. Lisa Brown have been talked about in Manchester for the best part of the last 12 months, but behind the Manc hype machine there's little substance to suggest that they'll break out of that inner circle. Musically passable, they just grate with each song as soon as the vocals kick in and after three songs we've given up. If they can't convince us in three songs to stay that extra 20 minutes how can they convince punters to pay £3 for a single. A disappointing end to the night after such a fantastic start to In The City.

Words: Alex McCann
Photos: Karen McBride www.karenmcbride.com
 

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(Pic: Dear Eskiimo)
Did you witness the Dear Eskiimo live experience?
Do you see something in Lisa Brown that we don't?
Did anyone actually bother watching Northern Uproar at Tmesis?
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