Fever - 12th January 2005

First up is Carl Pierce. Here’s a guy that bangs his stuff out with shotgun efficiency, pausing only to reload before blasting musical bullets through the air that seem to carry the essence of Ashcroft era indie. To draw heavy comparisons with The Verve et al would perhaps be an injustice though. Sure, it’s got the same kind of vibe – but an overwhelming sense of personal feeling looks to be attached to it. Varying the tempo and mood from all angles of the spectrum, Pierce proves as competent a vocalist as a guitarist. Sheer enthusiasm seems to carry him home here though and that’s refreshing in a day and image dominated by band image and fake personalities. Here’s to keeping it real…

After a few technical problems, The Layne are quickly into their set and are entertaining the crowd with a few melody driven monsters. These guys aren’t out to ram a song down your throat, almost offering you the chance to like it with a series of Roses like guitar hooks and laid back vocals. Leaving the crowd bobbing along and tapping their feet, they throw in a few new songs that maintain the band’s well defined sound and cement their status as one of the hottest new bands in town.

The Layne finish… and you’re left thinking that perhaps they’re not too far away from writing a tune that’d catapult them to instant fame. It’s subtle, but pretty darn impressive.

Chris Bryon